Termination of Operating Authority of Certain Foreign Air Carriers

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

Termination of Operating Authority of Certain Foreign Air

Carriers

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Order to Show Cause, Docket OST-98-4531, Order 98-10-3.

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SUMMARY: The Department is inviting comments on its tentative decision

to terminate the foreign air carrier permit and exemption authority

held by 47 foreign air carriers. These foreign air carriers have failed

to file family assistance plans with the Department and the National

Transportation Safety Board, as required by the Foreign Air Carrier

Family Support Act of 1997 (Act), 49 U.S.C. 41313. The Act, signed into

law by the President on December 16, 1997, requires foreign air

carriers to file plans for addressing the needs of families of

passengers involved in an aviation disaster. The deadline for filing

the plans was June 15, 1998. Since that time, the Department has taken

repeated measures to notify foreign carriers of their responsibility to

file their plans, and to offer assistance to the affected carriers. Of

the 252 foreign air carriers required to file plans, 205 have done so.

The Department believes that the continued failure of the remainder to

file, particularly in the face of repeated advisories from the

Department that they must do so, constitutes grounds for termination of

those carriers' authority to serve the United States. Of the 47 non-

filing carriers, the Department has received information that at least

32 are no longer in business, and that others no longer conduct any

U.S. operations, have no near-term plans to do so, and do not oppose

the termination of their authority. The 47 foreign air carriers whose

authority the Department proposes to terminate are: Aero

Transcolombiana de Carga Ltda.; Aerolineas Latinas, C.A.; Aeronautica

de Cancun, S.A.; Aeronaves del Peru, S.A.; Air Manitoba Limited; Air

Niagara Express, Inc.; Anglo Airlines Limited; Blue Scandinavia AB;

Caicos Caribbean Airways Limited; Canair Cargo Ltd.; ChallengAir;

Cherokee Air, Ltd.; Cleare Air Limited; Compania de Aviacion

``Faucett'', S.A.; Garuda Indonesia; General Air Cargo, G.A.C., C.A.;

Interestatal de Aviacion, S.A.; Jet Air International Charters, C.A.;

Jetall Holdings Corp.; Jetflight Limited; Kar-Air oy; Lineas Aereas La-

Tur, S.A.; Nigeria Airways, Ltd.; Nordic European Airlines

International AB; North Cariboo Flying Service Ltd.; North Coast

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Air Services Ltd.; Phoenix Air Lines Ltda.; Prairie Connection Ltd.;

Quassar de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.; Regal Air Limited; Rio Air Express,

S.A.; Seagreen Air Transport Limited; Servicio Aereo de Honduras, S.A.;

Sky Freighters Ltd.; Sociedad Aeronautica de Medellin Consolidada;

Societe Nouvelle Air Martinique; Tradewinds Airways Limited; Trans

European Airways France S.A.; Trans North Turbo Air Limited; Transavia

Airlines, C.V.; Translift Airways Limited; Transporte de Carga Aerea

Especializada y Serv.; Transportes Aereos Bolivianos; Vacationair Inc.;

Venezolana Internacional de Aviacion, S.A.; Windward Islands Airways

International, N.V.; and World Wide Air Charter Systems.

DATES: Objections to the issuance of a final order in this proceeding

are due: October 22, 1998. If objections are filed, answers to

objections are due: October 29, 1998. Persons filing pleadings should

contact the Department's Foreign Air Carrier Licensing Division at the

telephone number listed below for a list of persons to be served with

objections and answers to objections.

ADDRESSES: All documents in this proceeding, with appropriate filing

copies, should be filed in Docket OST-98-4531, addressed to Central

Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room

PL401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Wellington, Foreign Air Carrier

Licensing Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room 6412, 400

Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone (202) 366-2391.

Dated: October 1, 1998.

Patrick V. Murphy,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.

[FR Doc. 98-26929 Filed 10-7-98; 8:45 am]

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