Order Suspending Certain Air Service To and From Haiti

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Order Suspending Certain Air Service To and From Haiti

SUMMARY: We are publishing the order in its entirety as an appendix to

this document.

DATES: Issued in Washington, D.C., May 11, 1994.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 12, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Bloch, U.S. Department of

Transportation, Office of the Assistant General Counsel for

International Law, room 10105, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590. (202) 366-9183.

Patrick V. Murphy,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.

In re: Suspension of Certain Air Service To and From Haiti; Order

[Docket 49547; Order 94-5-18]

By Executive Order 12914 issued May 7, 1994, the President, in view

of United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 917 of May 6, 1994,

and in order to take additional steps with respect to the actions and

policies of the de facto regime in Haiti beyond those steps taken in

Executive Orders 12775, 12779, 12853 and 12872, ordered that certain

further economic sanctions be imposed against Haiti, including the

suspension of certain air services operated between the United States

and Haiti.

In accordance with Executive Order 12914, we tentatively found in

Order 94-5-13, issued May 9, 1994, that the public interest requires

the regulatory prohibition of charter passenger and scheduled and

charter all-cargo air services between the United States and Haiti

except those flights that may be permitted pursuant to the Executive

Order.

In that order we proposed to add the following conditions to all

U.S. air carrier certificates, all section 402 permits held by foreign

air carriers, and all exemptions held by U.S. and foreign air carriers

(these requirements would apply to indirect as well as direct air

carriers):

Effective immediately and until further order of the Department,

the holder and its agents may not engage in all-cargo or charter

foreign air transportation which includes a stop in Haiti.

We also tentatively found that this proposed action is required by

both the public interest and the public convenience and necessity.

Comments in response to this order were required to be filed with

the Department no later than 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 10, 1994. Comments

were filed by the National Air Carrier Association (NACA) and Federal

Express Corporation (FedEx). NACA objected to ``any action that will

discriminate between scheduled and charter passenger service.''\1\

FedEx, although it presently offers no services in or out of Haiti,

either by direct or indirect air service, argued that ``all cargo,

including that carried on passenger aircraft, should be treated the

same. . . .''\2\

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\1\Comments of the National Air Carrier Association, at 1.

\2\Comments of Federal Express Corporation, at 1.

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As we stated in the Show Cause Order, the public interest findings

in this instance are based upon Executive Order 12914. In that order,

the President took the following action:

The following are prohibited, notwithstanding the existence of

any rights or obligations conferred or imposed by any international

agreement or any contract entered into or any license or permit

granted before the effective date of this order, except to the

extent provided in regulations, orders, directives, authorizations,

or licenses that may hereafter be issued pursuant to this order: (a)

the granting of permission to any aircraft to take off from, land

in, or overfly the territory of the United States, if the aircraft,

as part of the same flight or as a continuation of that flight, is

destined to land in or has taken off from the territory of Haiti,

with the exception of regularly scheduled commercial passenger

flights. (emphasis added)

The Executive Order explicitly excepts regularly scheduled

commercial passenger flights from the prohibitions imposed. Both NACA

and FedEx would have us recraft the certificate and permit amendment

language in order to change the scope of the sanctions ordered by the

President. We decline to take such action given the President's clearly

stated directive.

Accordingly, we have decided to make final the tentative findings

and conclusions in Order 94-5-13.

Accordingly:

1. All U.S. air carrier certificates, all section 402 permits held

by foreign air carriers, and all exemptions held by U.S. and foreign

air carriers are hereby amended to add the following condition:

Effective immediately and until further order of the Department,

the holder and its agents may not engage in all-cargo or charter

foreign air transportation which includes a stop in Haiti.

2. Effective immediately and until further order of the Department,

no indirect air carrier may engage in all-cargo or charter foreign air

transportation which includes a stop in Haiti.

3. Unless disapproved by the President of the United States under

section 801 of the Federal Aviation Act, this order and the certificate

and permit amendments contained herein shall become effective on the

61st day after its submission for section 801 review or upon date of

receipt of advice from the President or his designee under Executive

Order 12597 and implementing regulations that the President does not

intend to disapprove the Department's order under that section,

whichever occurs earlier;\3\ and

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\3\This order was submitted for section 801 review on May 11,

1994. On May 12, 1994 we received notification that the President's

designee under Executive Order 12597 and implementing regulations

did not intend to disapprove the Department's order.

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4. We shall serve a copy of this order upon all U.S. and foreign

air carriers holding certificates of public convenience and necessity,

foreign air carrier permits, or exemption authority, the Air Transport

Association, the National Air Carrier Association, the International

Air Transport Association, the American Society of Travel Agents, the

Air Freight Association, the Ambassador of the Republic of Haiti in

Washington, D.C., the Federal Aviation Administration, and the United

States Department of State.

5. We will publish this order in the Federal Register.

Patrick V. Murphy,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.

[FR Doc. 94-12243 Filed 5-18-94; 8:45 am]

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