U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

GENERAL COUNSEL 

April 28, 2015 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Certified Mail- Return Receipt Requested 

Anthony U. Battista 

Condon Forsyth LLP 

7 Times Square 

18'h Floor 

New York, New York 10036 

Dear Mr. Battista: 

Re: Amended Petition of AirTanker Services Limited for a 

Temporary Exemption from 14 C.F.R. § 382.63 

This letter is in reference to the amended petition [Docket No. DOT-OST-20 15-0063] fi led by 

AirTanker Services, LTD ("ATS") on April 1, 2015. In its petition, ATS requests a temporary 

exemption from the requirement in 14 C.F.R. § 382.63 that carriers must ensure that aircraft with 

more than one aisle in which lavatories are provided must include at least one accessible 

lavatory. 

ATS seeks an exemption in order to operate a twin aisle A330-243 a ircraft 1 in passenger service, 

without an accessible lavatory, on transatlantic flights, for a period of up to six months, while it 

awaits approval from Airbus SAS and lavatory manufacturer Diehl on the installation of an 

accessible lavatory that it plans to install. In its petition, A TS asserts that awarding the 

exemption would be in the public interest due to increased competition and service provided by 

the operation of the aircraft. 2 A TS stated that the aircraft will offer passenger service between 

multiple locations in the United Kingdom and multiple locations in the United States.

3 However, 

the petition does not address any alternative means of accommodating persons with disabilities 

who may need to access an accessible lavatory on these flights. We note that such transatlantic 

fl ights typically take more than seven hours to complete, and in some cases, may take over 12 

hours to complete. 

Therefore, we request that ATS explain in detail any alternate means that it plans to implement 

during the proposed period of exemption in order to accommodate passengers with disabilities 

on-board its A330-243 aircraft that need to use an accessible lavatory. Prior to determining 

whether to grant A TS an exemption from the requirements of 14 C.F.R. § 382.63, we will review 

the information that ATS provides in response to this request. Under 49 U.S.C. § 40109, the 

1 Serial number MSN 1498. 

2 Amended Petition of AirTanker Services, L TO. ("ATS") for Temporary Exemptio n from 14 C.F.R. § 382.63, fil ed 

Apri l 1,2015 , at 2-3. 

3 & at 3. 
Secretary may grant an exemption when it is consistent with the public interest. We remind ATS 

that should the aircraft be used for passenger service to and from the United States while the 

exemption request is pending before the Department, the carrier would be in violation of the 

Department's disability regulation and may be subject to significant civil penalties. 

We ask that A TS provide the above information to this office no later than ten ( 1 0) days from the 

date of this letter. A TS may also provide any other information that it believes should be taken 

into account in our review of this matter. If you have any questions about this matter, please do 

not hesitate to contact Ryan Patanaphan, Trial Attorney, at (202) 366-9180 or Livaughn 

Chapman, Chief, Aviation Civil Rights Compliance Branch at (202) 366-9342. 

Sincerely, 

6~/J/1/~ Blane A. Workie 

Assistant General Counsel for 

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings 

cc: Jean Cooper Rose 

2