Termination of Operating Authority of Certain Foreign Air Carriers

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 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.