AFS-16-0340-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-2015-4009

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), petitioned 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 petitioner 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 department, agency, or 

instrumentality of the U.S. government (or under a subcontract between the prime 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 persons exercising the privileges of an 

airman certificate issued by the FAA, except such persons operating U.S.-registered aircraft 
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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 petitioner 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 flight operations would be 

conducted under part 91, using the U.S.-registered aircraft N877A, a Gulfstream Aerospace 

G-IV, (a long-range, turbojet aircraft) owned and operated by Mondoil and flown by airmen 

employed by Jet Aviation. According to the petitioner, the aircraft is free of any exterior 

markings, except the FAA aircraft registration number. The petitioner states that the aircraft 

would be used to transport key executives and others in furtherance of the business interests of 

Mondoil, which is exploring and developing oil fields located in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. 

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 

DNO International’s security operations prior to, and during flight operations. According to 

the petitioner, DNO International maintains a presence in Erbil and would maintain close 

communication with the company and the aircraft flight crew during operations into and out 

of Erbil. Per the petitioner, security teams provided by DNO International would move with 

both passengers and crew, ensuring that the flight crew and any ground staff would be

adequately protected while in Iraq. The petitioner indicates that Jet Aviation has flight control 

and international trip planners on its staff that work closely with DNO International security 

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

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

with threat assessment and all local operating rules and procedures, so as to exit the SFAR 

area expeditiously 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 would exit 

from the LTAA FIR, into the Iraq ORBB FIR at position NINVA UM688 ROXOP, then DCT

or via STAR to ORER. Routing out of Erbil would be from ORER via SID or DCT SEVKU

UM860 KABAN, which is the ORBB FIR exit point, into Turkey.

The petitioner states that exemptions to SFAR 77 have been granted to other operators 

seeking similar support to the oil production within the Kurdistan Region.

The petitioner contends that approval of Mondoil’s proposed operations to and from Iraq 

would be in the public interest, because the Government of the United States has a long term 

national interest in the development of the economy of Iraq. The petitioner states that oil 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 

oil 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-related revenues would allow for greater stability of the Government of 
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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.

The 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 since 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.

Special Federal Aviation Regulation 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 safely, 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 an 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 issued 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 Grants of Exemption Nos. 10437 and 10590, it had found that the 

circumstances presented by the petitioner justified a grant of exemption, that the 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,

the 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 

persons previously prohibited from 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 operations 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 and 
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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, by July 31, 2014, the operational environment for U.S. civil aviation in Iraq had

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 allies had led to an increased threat to 

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

and recruited former military personnel to operate those weapons. By then, ISIL had shot 

down Iraqi rotary-wing and fixed-wing 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 ISIL posed an increased threat to U.S. civil aviation operating in Iraqi airspace at or below 

FL 300. On 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 31, 2014, NOTAM increased restrictions 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) Operations at or below FL 300 by flights departing from countries adjacent to Iraq 

whose climb performance would not permit operations above FL 300 prior to entering 

Iraqi airspace; and 

(3) Flights within the territory of Iraq north of 34 degrees, 30 minutes North latitude 

originating from or destined to areas outside of Iraq to or from ORER or ORSU.

The July 31, 2014, NOTAM superseded Exemption No. 10664.

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 airstrikes 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 and 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.
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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 military 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 

have substantially changed since it issued Exemption No. 10664 to the petitioner. 

The FAA’s Decision

 For the reasons set forth above, the 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 an exemption is denied. 

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

/s/

John Barbagallo

Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service

.