AFS

- 1 6

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- E Exemption No. 13964

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, DC 20591

In the matter of the petition of

MONDOIL ENTERPRISES

INTERNATIONAL , LLC Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2015

- 4 009

for an exemption from § 91.1605 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations

DENIAL OF EXEMPTION

By letter dated September 23 , 2015, Mr. William Thomas, Director of Operations, Jet Aviation Flight Services, Inc. (Jet Aviation)

, petitione d the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Mondoil Enterprises International , LLC (Mondoil) for an exemption from § 91.1605, Special Aviation Regulation (SFAR) No. 77 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) . The proposed exemption

, if granted, would allow Mondoil to conduct flight operations with aircraft owned or leased by Mondoil and flown by airmen employed by

Jet Aviation to and from Erbil International Airport (ORER) to and from points outside of Iraq in support of the business interests of Mondoil , specifically exploring and developing oil fields located in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The p etitioner requests relief from the following regulation :

Section 91.1605 prescribes, in pertinent part, that no person may conduct flight operations in the Baghdad ( ORBB ) Flight Information Region ( FIR ) unless such flights are conducted under a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement with a depar tment, agency, or instrumentality of the U.S. government (or under a subcontract between the pr ime contractor of the department, agency, or instrumentality, and the person subject to Section 91.1605 )

, with the approval of the FAA, or under an exemption issued by the FAA. This rule applies to all U.S. air carriers and U.S. commercial operators; all p ersons exercising the privileges of an airman certificate issued by the FAA, except such persons operating U.S.

- registered aircraft2

for a foreign air carrier; and all operators of aircraft registered in the United States, except where the operator of such aircraft is a foreign air carrier.

The p etitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner proposes to conduct operations between points outside of Iraq and Erbil, Iraq

, through the Erbil International Airport ( ORER ). These fl ight operations would be

conducted under p art 91

, using the U.S.

- registered aircraft N877A, a Gulfstream Aerospace

G

- IV, (a long

- range, turbojet aircraft ) owned and operate d by Mondoil and flown by airmen employed by Jet Aviation

. According to the petitio ner, t he aircraft is free of any exterior markings

, except the FAA aircraft registration number. The petition er states that the aircraft would be used to transport key executives and others in furtherance of the business interests of Mondoil, wh ich is exp loring and developing oil fields located in the Kurdistan region of I raq. The petitioner expects that operations would be conducted to and from Iraq, on the average

, once per month , although the frequency of operations could differ.

The petitioner also states that Jet Aviation would be provided security services by

D NO Internation al ’s s ecurity operations prior to, and during flight operations. According to the petitioner, D NO International maint ains a presence in Erbi l and would maintain close communication with the company and the aircraft flight crew during operations into and out

of Erbil. Per the petitioner, s ecurity teams provided by D NO International would move with both passengers and crew, ensuring that the fl ight crew and any ground staff would be adequately protected while in Iraq. The petitioner indicates that Jet Aviation has flight control

and international trip pla nn ers on its staff that work closely with D NO International security

and a dedicated team a t Universal Weather and Aviation, to manage flight logistics.

The petitioner proposes that its f lights would operate to and from Iraq in accordance

with threat assessment and all local operating rules and procedures

, so as to exit the SFAR

a rea expeditio usly and thereby minimize hazards to the aircrew and aircraft. Routing into and out of Iraq would be through Turkey (LTAA) FIR. Routing into Erbil

, the flight w ould exit

f rom the LTAA FIR, into the Iraq ORBB FIR at position NINVA UM688 ROXOP, then D CT

or via STAR to ORER. Routing out of Erbil would be from ORER via SID or D CT SEVKU UM860 KABAN, which is the ORBB FIR exit point, into Turkey.

The petitioner states that exemptions to SFAR 77 ha ve been granted t o other operators seeking similar support to th e oil production within the Kurdistan Region.

The petitioner contends that a pproval of Mondoil ’s proposed operations to and from Iraq would be in the public interest

, because the G overnment of the United States has a long term

national interest in the deve lopment of the economy of Iraq. The petitioner states that o il is the primary source of foreign exchange earnings for Iraq. Further, the petitioner indicates that

the Government of Iraq has embarked on a program to increase oil production and to export

o il to support its growing revenue needs. The petitioner states that Mondoil is assisting those in Iraq that are pursuing oil exploration and development

. The petitioner argues that , to the

extent increasing oil

- r elated revenues would allow for greater stab ility of the Government of3

Iraq and the entire Middle East region

, the national and security interests of the United States

would be furthered by approval of these flight operations.

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for waiving the requirement for Federal Register publication because any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to

Mondoil.

T he FAA ’s analysis is as follows :

In reviewing the petitioner’s request, the FAA focused on the threat environment for the proposed flights and the FAA's responsibility for the safety of United States (U.S.) operators, U.S. airmen, and U.S.

- registered civil aircraft

. The threat environment facing U.S. civil aviation operations in Iraq, including in the vicinity of Erbil, has changed materially si nce the FAA’s previous grants of exemption to Mondoil and other operators to operate to and from Erbil International Airport to and from points outside Iraq.

S pecial F ederal A viation R egulation No. 77 was initially put into place in October 1996 to

address hazards to U.S. civil aviation from the Saddam Hussein regime. In early 2003, a U.S.

- led coalition removed Saddam Hussein’s regime from power in Iraq. On November 13, 2003

, the FAA determined that certain limited overflights of Iraq could be conducted s afely, subject to the permission of appropriate authorities in Iraq and in accordance with the conditions established by those authorities. Accordingly, the FAA amended SFAR No. 77 to permit overflights of Iraq above flight level (FL) 200. That amendment also allowed aircraft departing from countries adjacent to Iraq to operate at altitudes below FL 200 within Iraq to the extent necessary to permit a climb above FL 200 if the climb performance of the aircraft would not permit operation above FL 200 prior to entering Iraqi airspace

.

On December 4, 2012

, Mondoil was granted a n exemption (Exemption No. 10664) to SFAR

No. 77 to the extent necessary to allow Mondoil to conduct part 91 flight operations between points outside of Iraq and the Erbil International Airport (ORER). At that time, the FAA found that it had already issue d grants of exemption in circumstances similar in all material respects to those presented in Mondoil’s September 27, 2012, petition for exemption. The FAA indicated that, in G rant s of Exemption Nos. 10437 and 10590

, it had found that the circumstances presented by the petitioner justified a grant of exemption , that t he petitioner

showed that granting an exemption was in the public interest

, and that a level of safety equivalent to that provided by the SFAR would be maintained. Effective on January 7, 2013,

t he FAA amended SFAR No. 77

, § 91.1605

, to allow U.S. civil flight operations between points outside Iraq and the Erbil (ORER) and Sulaymaniyah (ORSU) International Airports by

person s previously prohibited fro m conducting such operations

, based on results of evaluations of the airports. ORER and ORSU had supported non

- U.S. air carrier operations for a number of years without incident. Based largely on the initiation of those operati ons and on improvements in the operational environment, the FAA determined that flights by U.S. operators could be conducted safely to those two airports under certain conditions. Therefore, the FAA amended SFAR No. 77, § 91.1605, to allow certain flights within the territory and4

airspace of Iraq north of 34 degrees 30 minutes North latitude below FL 200 to and from ORER or ORSU, with certain conditions and limitations.

However, b y July 31, 2014, the operational environment for U.S. civil aviation in Iraq ha d significantly changed. The resurgence of militant groups
, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)

, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

, and their ongoing combat operations against the Iraqi government and its alli es had led to an increased threat to

U.S. civ i l aviation in Iraq. ISIL had acquired weapons from captured Iraqi and Syrian stocks

and recruited former military personnel to operat e those weapons. By then, ISIL had shot down Iraqi rotary

- wing and fixed

- wi ng aircraft that were flying at low altitudes . ISIL also had acquired man

- portable air defense systems (MANPADS) and other anti

- aircraft weapons that provided the capability to target aircraft at higher altitudes. As a result, the FAA determined

that ISI L pose d an increased threat to U.S. civil aviation operating in Iraqi airspace at or below

FL 300. O n July 31, 2014, the FAA issued a NOTAM that prohibited U.S. civil flight operations in the territory and airspace of Iraq at or below FL 300.

The July 3 1, 2014

, NOTAM increased restriction s on operations in the territory and airspace of Iraq beyond the restrictions then contained in SFAR No. 77, § 91.1605, which remained in effect. The following operations which had been permitted under SFAR No. 77, § 91 .1605, were prohibited by the NOTAM:

(1) Overflights of Iraq above FL 200 but at or below FL 300;

(2) O perations at or below FL 300 by flights departing from countries adjacent to Iraq whose climb performance would not permit operations above FL 300 pri or to entering Iraqi airspace; and

(3) F lights within the terri t o r y of Iraq north of 34 degree s
, 30 minutes North latitude originatin g from or destined to areas outside of Iraq to or from ORER or ORSU.

The July 31, 2014, NOTAM superseded Exemption No. 106 64.

Less than a month later, on August 7, 2014, President Obama announced that he had authorized targeted airstrikes against militants associated with ISIL if they moved toward the Iraqi city of Erbil , as well as targeted airstrikes, if necessary, to help Iraqi forces who were fighting to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and to protect the civilians trapped there. The President also stated that the U.S. was conducting humanitarian air drops to aid the trapped

civilians. U.S. forces began conducting airstri kes on August 8, 2014. On the same day, the FAA issued a NOTAM that prohibited U.S. civil flight operations in the ORBB FIR at all altitudes due to the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict between

militants associated with ISIL an d the Iraqi security forces and their allies. The August 8,

2014

, NOTAM superseded the July 31, 2014

, NOTAM.

On May 11, 2015, an amendment to SFAR No. 77, § 91.1605

, revised the rule to incorporate the flight prohibitions set forth in the August 8, 2014 NOTAM.5

ISIL continues to be present in Iraq, and there is ongoing fighting in the Northern provinces, to include Erbil province and areas in close proximity to Erbil

, as well as elsewhere in Iraq

. Elements of ISIL currently located in the Erbil province may be operating in close proximity to the city of Erbil

, where there is a potential for them to conduct anti

- aircraft activities.

Various anti

- government and anti

- U.S. militant groups, including ISIL, have used anti

- aircraft weapons to fire at Iraqi mili tary aircraft, some of which have reportedly been shot down during the course of this fighting. Attacks against aircraft in flight and targeting Iraqi airports can occur with little or no warning. Consequently, the FAA finds that circumstances In Iraq

ha ve substantially changed since it issued Exemption No

. 10664 to the petitioner.

T h e FAA’s Decision

For the reasons set forth above, t he FAA has determined that given those changed conditions, granting an exemption would not provide a level of safety at least equal to that provided by § 91.1605, SFAR 77, and

, consequently

, is not in the public interest. Therefore, under the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113 and 44701, which the FAA Administrator has delegated to me, your petition for a n exemption is denied.

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 11, 2015.

/s/ John Barbagallo Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service

.