Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 193 / Wednesday, October 7, 2009 / Notices 51653 

1Operating Limitations at New York LaGuardia 

Airport, 71 FR 77,854 (Dec. 27, 2006); 72 FR 63,224 

(Nov. 8, 2007) ( transfer, minimum usage, and 

withdrawal amendments); 72 FR 48,428 (Aug. 19, 

2008) (reducing the reservations available for 

unscheduled operations); 74 FR 845 (Jan. 8, 2009) 

(extending the expiration date of the December 

2006 order until October 24, 2009); 74 FR 2,646 

(Jan. 15, 2009) (reducing the peak-hour cap on 

scheduled operations to 71). 2 74 FR 28,772. 

3 72 FR at 63,227 (ordering paragraph five). 

4 74 FR at 28,774 (‘‘any submission to the current 

docket should be limited to the proposed extension 

of the December 2006 order’’). 

withdraw Operating Authorizations to 

meet a reduced hourly or half-hourly 

limit for scheduled operations. The FAA 

will provide at least 45 days’ notice 

unless otherwise required by 

operational needs. Any Operating 

Authorization that is withdrawn or 

temporarily suspended will, if 

reallocated, be reallocated to the carrier 

from which it was taken, provided that 

the carrier continues to operate 

scheduled service at JFK. 

12. The FAA will enforce this Order 

through an enforcement action seeking 

a civil penalty under 49 U.S.C. 46301(a). 

A carrier that is not a small business as 

defined in the Small Business Act, 15 

U.S.C. 632, will be liable for a civil 

penalty of up to $25,000 for every day 

that it violates the limits set forth in this 

Order. A carrier that is a small business 

as defined in the Small Business Act 

will be liable for a civil penalty of up 

to $10,000 for every day that it violates 

the limits set forth in this Order. The 

FAA also could file a civil action in U.S. 

District Court, under 49 U.S.C. 46106, 

46107, seeking to enjoin any air carrier 

from violating the terms of this Order. 

13. The FAA may modify or withdraw 

any provision in this Order on its own 

or on application by any carrier for good 

cause shown. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 1, 

2009. 

J. Randolph Babbitt, 

Administrator, Federal Aviation 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–24121 Filed 10–2–09; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

[Docket No. FAA–2006–25755] 

Operating Limitations at LaGuardia 

Airport 

ACTION: Notice of Order Extending the 

Limitations on Operations at LaGuardia 

Airport. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is amending the 

December 13, 2006, order limiting the 

number of operations at LaGuardia 

Airport (LGA) during peak operating 

hours, as amended (December 2006 

order).1 The current amendment 

extends the December 2006 order by 

approximately two years, through 

October 29, 2011. 

If you wish to review the background 

documents or comments received in this 

proceeding, you may go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov at any time and 

follow the online instructions for 

accessing the electronic docket. You 

may also go to the U.S. Department of 

Transportation’s Docket Operations in 

Room W12–140 on the ground floor of 

the West Building at 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

DATES: These amendments to the 

December 2006 order are effective 

immediately upon publication in the 

Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James W. Tegtmeier, Associate Chief 

Counsel for the Air Traffic Organization; 

telephone—(202) 267–8323; e-mail— 

james.tegtmeier@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On June 17, 2009, the FAA published 

a notice that invited comments on its 

proposal to extend the December 2006 

order limiting operations at LGA.2 At 

the time, the December 2006 order was 

scheduled to expire on October 24, 

2009. For the reasons described in the 

notice, it was unrealistic to expect a 

long-term rule to take effect and control 

the significant congestion-related delays 

that the FAA anticipated would occur at 

LGA if the December 2006 order were to 

expire as originally scheduled. Given 

the current uncertainty over when a 

final rule would take effect and the 

impending expiration of the December 

2006 order, the FAA proposed to extend 

the December 2006 order for 

approximately one year. 

The FAA expected the one-year 

extension to serve as at least a partial 

bridge to the implementation of a longterm measure to control congestion and 

related delays at LGA. The FAA 

received written submissions on the 

proposal from five commenters. The 

commenters include two scheduled 

carriers, two industry organizations, and 

the airport operator. 

II. Summary and Analysis of the 

Comments 

A. Amended Duration 

Four of the five commenters express 

support for an extension of the 

December 2006 order to prevent a return 

of the congestion-related delays that 

passengers previously experienced at 

LGA. Although the FAA proposed an 

extension of about one year, two of the 

commenters state that an extension of 

longer than one year is appropriate. 

These commenters assert that one year 

is not sufficient time to finalize and to 

implement a new rule to manage 

congestion at the airport. 

The FAA proposed a one-year 

extension of the December 2006 order 

because the FAA never intended the 

order to serve as a long-term solution to 

congestion at LGA. From this 

perspective, using the minimum 

number of short-term extensions would 

offer the benefit of regular and public 

status reports on where the FAA stands 

in establishing a longer-term solution to 

overscheduling at LGA. As the 

commenters note, however, such shortterm extensions may not best facilitate 

the long-term planning of some carriers 

that conduct, or hope to conduct, 

service at the airport. Accordingly, 

while the FAA does not agree that an 

indefinite extension is appropriate, the 

FAA will increase the duration of the 

present extension to about two years to 

accommodate carriers’ longer term 

planning. The December 2006 order will 

now expire on October 29, 2011. 

B. Buy and Sell Authority 

In light of the increased duration of 

the December 2006 order, three 

commenters question the ban on the 

purchase, sale, or long-term lease of the 

Operating Authorizations held by virtue 

of the original order. The commenters 

reason that the FAA included the ban as 

a result of the December 2006 order’s 

intended short duration. The 

commenters perceive that extending the 

order increases the importance of a 

market mechanism that permits the sale 

and purchase of operating authority, 

which would facilitate competition and 

new entry, as well as leases for such 

authority that extend beyond the order’s 

expiration date. 

The FAA included in the December 

2006 order the ability of carriers to trade 

or to lease Operating Authorizations to 

other carriers; however, the duration of 

the trade or lease could not exceed the 

duration of the order.3 The commenters 

claim that relying on short-term trades 

and leases alone may become limiting as 

the December 2006 order remains 

effective over a significantly longer 

term. The proposed extension of the 

December 2006 order, however, 

specifically limited the comments to the 

proposed extension.4 The FAA intends 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
51654 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 193 / Wednesday, October 7, 2009 / Notices 

5Unscheduled operations are operations other 

than those regularly conducted by an air carrier 

between LaGuardia and another service point. 

Unscheduled operations include general aviation, 

public aircraft, military, charter, ferry, and 

positioning flights. Helicopter operations are 

excluded from the reservation requirement. 

Reservations for unscheduled flights operating 

under visual flight rules (VFR) are granted when the 

aircraft receives clearance from air traffic control to 

land at or depart LaGuardia. Reservations for 

unscheduled VFR flights are not included in the 

limits for unscheduled operators. 

to address long-term transfers of 

Operating Authorizations at some point 

in the future. 

Accordingly, the ordering paragraphs 

of the December 2006 order are hereby 

amended as follows: 

A. Scheduled Operations 

With respect to scheduled operations 

at LaGuardia: 

1. The final Order governs scheduled 

arrivals and departures, except 

helicopters, at LaGuardia from 6 a.m. 

through 9:59 p.m., Eastern Time, 

Monday through Friday, and from 12 

noon through 9:59 p.m., Eastern Time, 

Sunday. Seventy-one (71) Operating 

Authorizations are available per hour 

and will be assigned by the FAA on a 

30-minute basis. The FAA will permit 

additional, existing operations above 

this threshold; however, the FAA will 

retire Operating Authorizations that are 

surrendered to the FAA, withdrawn for 

non-use, or unassigned during each 

affected hour until the number of 

Operating Authorizations in that hour 

reaches seventy-one (71). 

2. The final Order takes effect on 

January 1, 2007, and will expire on 

October 29, 2011. 

3. The FAA will assign operating 

authority to conduct an arrival or a 

departure at LaGuardia during the 

affected hours to the air carrier that 

holds equivalent slot or slot exemption 

authority under the High Density Rule 

or FAA slot exemption rules as of 

January 1, 2007; to the primary 

marketing air carrier in the case of AIR– 

21 small hub/nonhub airport slot 

exemptions; or to the air carrier 

operating the flights as of January 1, 

2007, in the case of a slot held by a noncarrier. The FAA will not assign 

operating authority under the final 

Order to any person or entity other than 

a certificated U.S. or foreign air carrier 

with appropriate economic authority 

under 14 CFR part 121, 129, or 135. The 

Chief Counsel of the FAA will be the 

final decisionmaker regarding the initial 

assignment of Operating Authorizations. 

4. For administrative tracking 

purposes only, the FAA will assign an 

identification number to each Operating 

Authorization. 

5. For the duration of this order, an 

air carrier may enter into a lease or trade 

of an Operating Authorization to 

another carrier for any consideration. 

Notice of a trade or lease under this 

paragraph must be submitted in writing 

to the FAA Slot Administration Office, 

facsimile (202) 267–7277 or e-mail 7– 

AWA–Slotadmin@faa.gov, and must 

come from a designated representative 

of each carrier. The FAA must confirm 

and approve these transactions in 

writing prior to the effective date of the 

transaction. However, the FAA will 

approve transfers between carriers 

under the same marketing control up to 

five business days after the actual 

operation. This post-transfer approval is 

limited to accommodate operational 

disruptions that occur on the same day 

of the scheduled operation. The FAA’s 

approval of a trade or lease does not 

constitute a commitment by the FAA to 

grant the associated historical rights to 

any operator in the event that slot 

controls continue at LGA after the order 

expires. 

6. Each air carrier holding an 

Operating Authorization must forward 

in writing to the FAA Slot 

Administration Office a list of all 

Operating Authorizations held by the 

carrier along with a listing of the 

Operating Authorizations actually 

operated for each day of the two-month 

reporting period within 14 days after the 

last day of the two-month reporting 

period beginning January 1 and every 

two months thereafter. Any Operating 

Authorization not used at least 80 

percent of the time over a two-month 

period will be withdrawn by the FAA 

except: 

a. The FAA will treat as used any 

Operating Authorization held by an air 

carrier on Thanksgiving Day, the Friday 

following Thanksgiving Day, and the 

period from December 24 through the 

first Saturday in January. 

b. The FAA will treat as used any 

Operating Authorization obtained by an 

air carrier through a lottery under 

paragraph seven for the first 120 days 

after allocation in the lottery. 

c. The Administrator of the FAA may 

waive the 80 percent usage requirement 

in the event of a highly unusual and 

unpredictable condition which is 

beyond the control of the air carrier and 

which affects carrier operations for a 

period of five consecutive days or more. 

7. In the event that Operating 

Authorizations are withdrawn for 

nonuse, surrendered to the FAA, or are 

unassigned, the FAA will determine 

whether any of the available Operating 

Authorizations should be reallocated. If 

so, the FAA will conduct a lottery using 

the provisions specified under 14 CFR 

93.225. The FAA may retime an 

Operating Authorization prior to 

reallocation in order to address 

operational needs. When the final Order 

expires, any Operating Authorizations 

reassigned under this paragraph, except 

those assigned to new entrants or 

limited incumbents, will revert to the 

FAA for reallocation according to the 

reallocation mechanism prescribed in 

the final rule that succeeds the final 

Order. 

8. If the FAA determines that an 

involuntary reduction in the number of 

allocated Operating Authorizations is 

required to meet operational needs, 

such as reduced airport capacity, the 

FAA will conduct a weighted lottery to 

withdraw Operating Authorizations to 

meet a reduced hourly or half-hourly 

limit for scheduled operations. The FAA 

will provide at least 45 days’ notice 

unless otherwise required by 

operational needs. Any Operating 

Authorization that is withdrawn or 

temporarily suspended will, if 

reallocated, be reallocated to the air 

carrier from which it was taken, 

provided that the air carrier continues to 

operate scheduled service at LaGuardia. 

9. The FAA will enforce the final 

Order through an enforcement action 

seeking a civil penalty under 49 U.S.C. 

46301(a). An air carrier that is not a 

small business as defined in the Small 

Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632, would be 

liable for a civil penalty of up to $25,000 

for every day that it violates the limits 

set forth in the final Order. An air 

carrier that is a small business as 

defined in the Small Business Act 

would be liable for a civil penalty of up 

to $10,000 for every day that it violates 

the limits set forth in the final Order. 

The FAA also could file a civil action 

in U.S. District Court, under 49 U.S.C. 

46106, 46107, seeking to enjoin any air 

carrier from violating the terms of the 

final Order. 

B. Unscheduled Operations 5

With respect to unscheduled flight 

operations at LaGuardia, the FAA 

adopts the following: 

1. The final Order applies to all 

operators of unscheduled flights, except 

helicopter operations, at LaGuardia from 

6 a.m. through 9:59 p.m., Eastern Time, 

Monday through Friday and from 12 

noon through 9:59 p.m., Eastern Time, 

Sunday. 

2. The final Order takes effect on 

January 1, 2007, and will expire on 

October 29, 2011. 

3. No person may operate an aircraft 

other than a helicopter to or from 

LaGuardia unless the operator has 

received, for that unscheduled 

operation, a reservation that is assigned 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 193 / Wednesday, October 7, 2009 / Notices 51655 

by the David J. Hurley Air Traffic 

Control System Command Center’s 

Airport Reservation Office (ARO). 

Additional information on procedures 

for obtaining a reservation will be 

available via the Internet at http:// 

www.fly.faa.gov/ecvrs. 

4. Three (3) reservations are available 

per hour for unscheduled operations at 

LaGuardia. The ARO will assign 

reservations on a 30-minute basis. 

5. The ARO receives and processes all 

reservation requests. Reservations are 

assigned on a ‘‘first-come, first-served’’ 

basis, determined as of the time that the 

ARO receives the request. A 

cancellation of any reservation that will 

not be used as assigned is required. 

6. Filing a request for a reservation 

does not constitute the filing of an 

instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan, 

as separately required by regulation. 

After the reservation is obtained, an IFR 

flight plan can be filed. The IFR flight 

plan must include the reservation 

number in the ‘‘remarks’’ section. 

7. Air Traffic Control will 

accommodate declared emergencies 

without regard to reservations. 

Nonemergency flights in direct support 

of national security, law enforcement, 

military aircraft operations, or public 

use aircraft operations will be 

accommodated above the reservation 

limits with the prior approval of the 

Vice President, System Operations 

Services, Air Traffic Organization. 

Procedures for obtaining the appropriate 

reservation for such flights are available 

via the Internet at http:// 

www.fly.faa.gov/ecvrs. 

8. Notwithstanding the limits in 

paragraph four, if the Air Traffic 

Organization determines that air traffic 

control, weather, and capacity 

conditions are favorable and significant 

delay is not likely, the FAA can 

accommodate additional reservations 

over a specified period. Unused 

Operating Authorizations can also be 

temporarily made available for 

unscheduled operations. Reservations 

for additional operations are obtained 

through the ARO. 

9. Reservations cannot be bought, 

sold, or leased. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 1, 

2009. 

J. Randolph Babbitt, 

Administrator, Federal Aviation 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–24120 Filed 10–2–09; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

Vessel Self-Designations 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Maritime 

Administration. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: On September 4, 2009, the 

United States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), the United States Department 

of Transportation’s Maritime 

Administration (MARAD), and the 

United States Agency for International 

Development (USAID) entered into a 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 

regarding the proper implementation of 

the Cargo Preference Act (CPA). That 

MOU, inter alia, establishes procedures 

and standards by which owners and 

operators of oceangoing cargo ships may 

seek to designate each of their vessels as 

either a dry bulk carrier or a dry cargo 

liner, according to specified servicebased criteria. This Notice both 

announces that MARAD has received 

such self-designation applications for 

particular vessels from their owners and 

operators, and invites comments 

thereon from interested parties. MARAD 

will thereafter consider all the 

information submitted in support of a 

requested self-designation and other 

evidence in the record in reaching its 

own decision on the appropriate vessel 

classification. 

DATES: Comments are due on October 

19, 2009. 

Background 

The CPA requires that federal 

agencies take ‘‘necessary and 

practicable’’ steps to ensure that 

privately-owned U.S.-flag vessels 

transport at least 50 percent of the gross 

tonnage of cargo sponsored under 

Federal programs ‘‘(computed 

separately for dry bulk carriers, dry 

cargo liners, and tankers) * * * to the 

extent such vessels are available at fair 

and reasonable rates for commercial 

vessels of the United States, in a manner 

that will ensure a fair and reasonable 

participation of commercial vessels of 

the United States in those cargoes by 

geographic areas.’’ 46 U.S.C. 55305(b). 

An additional 25 percent of gross 

tonnage of certain food assistance 

programs is to be transported in 

accordance with the requirements of 46 

U.S.C. 55314. 

The MOU referenced above, as well as 

an accompanying explanatory notice, 

were published by MARAD in the 

Federal Register on September 15, 2009. 

The MOU adopts standards and 

procedures to be used to classify the 

vessels transporting preference cargo. 

This Notice marks the first use of those 

standards and procedures. Owners and 

operators of the vessels listed below 

have submitted applications to selfdesignate their ships as either dry bulk 

vessels or as dry cargo liners. Each 

vessel has been assigned a separate 

docket containing the materials 

submitted. Interested persons are 

invited to submit comments regarding 

these vessels to the appropriate docket 

no later than 5 p.m. EDT on October 19, 

2009. Commentators are advised to 

address their comments to the servicebased criteria listed in the September 15 

Federal Register notice that will 

determine the ultimate classification of 

each vessel. 

APPLICATIONS TO SELF-DESIGNATE

Docket Owner/Operator Vessel 

MARAD–2009–0093 ........................................... U.S. United Ocean Serv. ................................. M/VSheila McDevitt. 

MARAD–2009–0097 ........................................... U.S. United Ocean Serv. ................................. M/VMary Ann Hudson. 

MARAD–2009–0094 ........................................... Liberty Maritime Corp ...................................... M/VLiberty Eagle. 

MARAD–2009–0095 ........................................... Liberty Maritime Corp ...................................... M/VLiberty Glory. 

MARAD–2009–0096 ........................................... Liberty Maritime Corp ...................................... M/VLiberty Grace. 

MARAD–2009–0098 ........................................... APL Maritime Limited ....................................... APL Ireland. 

MARAD–2009–0099 ........................................... APL Maritime Limited ....................................... APL New York. 

MARAD–2009–0100 ........................................... APL Maritime Limited ....................................... APL Arabia. 

MARAD–2009–0101 ........................................... APL Maritime Limited ....................................... APL Virginia. 

MARAD–2009–0102 ........................................... APL Maritime Limited ....................................... APL Egypt.

MARAD–2009–0103 ........................................... APL Maritime Limited ....................................... APL Jade. 

MARAD–2009–0104 ........................................... APL Maritime Limited ....................................... APL Japan.

MARAD–2009–0105 ........................................... APL Maritime Limited ....................................... APL Pearl.

MARAD–2009–0106 ........................................... APL Maritime Limited ....................................... APL Cyprine. 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES