### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on January 22, 2010



### NOTICE OF ACTION TAKE N -- DOCKET DOT-OST-1997-2619

________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This serves as notice to the public of th e action described below, taken by the Department official indicated (no additional confirming order will be issued in this matter).

Applicant: AEROLITORAL, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a AEROMEXI CO CONNECT (Aerolitoral)

Date Filed: December 30, 2009

Relief requested: Renewal of exemption from 49 USC §41301 to permit the applicant to conduct passenger and/or cargo charter operations between Mexico and the United States, and other passenger and/or cargo charters in accordance with 14 CFR Part 212. The applicant requests th at the authority be granted for a two-year term.

If renewal, date and citation of last acti on: February 5, 2009, in this Docket.

Applicant representative: William C. Evans, 410-827-5074

DOT analyst: Robert J. Finamore, 202-366-2405

Responsive pleadings: None.

DISPOSITION

Action: Approved in part (one-year grant), remainder (request for longer-term authority) dismissed. (See remarks below.)

Action date: January 22, 2010

Effective dates of authority granted: January 22, 2010, through January 22, 2011.

Basis for approval (bilateral agreement/reciprocity): Un ited States-Mexico Air Transport Services Agreement.

Except to the extent exempted/waived, this authority is subj ect to the terms, conditions, and limitations of our standard exemption conditions (attached).

Special conditions/Remarks: In accordance with 14 CFR §212.9( d), Aerolitoral shall not perform any charter flights to or from the United States unless the Department has grante d a statement of authorization for such operations. 1

The one-year duration of the authority we granted is consis tent with our usual policy of granting exemption authority in the circumstances presented. We, therefore, dismissed th e application to the extent that it sought authority for a longer period.

Action taken by: Paul L. Gretch, Director, Office of International Aviation

________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Under authority assigned by the Department in its regulations, 14 CFR Part 385, we found that (1) our action was consistent wit h Department policy; (2) the applicant was qualified to perform its proposed operations; (3) grant of the authority was consisten t with the public interest; and (4) grant of the authority would not constitute a majo r regulatory action under the Energy Policy and

1 See, e.g. , Order 91-5-25, where the Department pl aced this condition on the foreign air ca rrier permit granted to Aerovias de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. We note, however, that the Department has granted blanket exemption authority to existing and future Mexican carriers, relieving them of this prior approval requirement for third and fourth freedom charter operations if they sub mit to the Department advance notice of their charter ope rations as described in Orders 98-4-2 and 99-7-23.Conservation Act of 1975. To the extent not granted/deferred/dism issed, we denied all requests in the referenced Docket. We may amend, modify, or revoke the authority granted in this Notice at any time without hearing at our discretion.

Persons entitled to petition the Department fo r review of the action set forth in this Notice under the Department’s regulation s, 14 CFR §385.30, may file their petitions within seven (7) days after th e date of issuance of this Notice. This action was effecti ve when taken, and the filing of a petition for review will not alter such effectiveness.

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at:

http://www.regulations.gov/

### Foreign Carrier Exemption Conditions

In the conduct of the operations authorized , the foreign carrier applicant(s) shall:

(1) Not conduct any operations unless it holds a currently effective authorization from its homeland for such operations, and it has filed a copy of su ch authorization with the Department;

(2) Comply with all applicable requirements of the Fe deral Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, and with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, including, but not limited to, 14 CFR Parts 129, 91, and 36 and 49 CFR Part 1546 or 1550, as applicable. To assure compliance with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning secur ity, the holder shall, before commencing any new service (including charter flights) from a foreign airport that would be the holder’s last point of departure for the United States, contact its International Industry Representative (IIR) (form erly referred to as International Principal Security Inspector) to advise the IIR of its plans and to find out whether the Transportation Security Administration has determined that security is adequate to allow such airport(s) to be served;

(3) Comply with the requirements for minimum insurance c overage contained in 14 CFR Part 205, and, prior to the commencement of any operations under this authority, file evid ence of such coverage, in the form of a completed OST Form 6411, with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Pr ogram Management Branch (AFS-260), Flight Standards Service (any changes to, or termination of, insu rance also shall be filed with that office);

(4) Not operate aircraft under this authority unless it compli es with operational safety requirements at least equivalent to Annex 6 of the Chicago Convention;

(5) Conform to the airworthiness and airman competency requirements of its Government for international air services;

(6) Except as specifically exempted or otherwise provided for in a Department Order, comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 203, concerning waiver of War saw Convention liability limits and defenses;

(7) Agree that operations under this authority constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, for the purposes of 28 U.S.C. 1605(a), but only with respect to those actions or proceedings instituted against it in any court or other tribunal in the United States that are: (a) based on its operations in intern ational air transportation that, according to the contract of carriage, include a point in the United States as a point of or igin, point of destination, or agreed stopping place, or for which the contract of carriage was purchased in the United States; or (b) based on a claim under any international agreement or treaty cognizable in any court or other tri bunal of the United States. In this condition, the term "international air transportation" means "international tran sportation" as defined by the Warsaw Convention, except that all States shall be considered to be High Cont racting Parties for the purpose of this definition;

(8) Except as specifically authorized by the Department, orig inate or terminate all flights to/from the United States in its homeland;

(9) Comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 217, concerning the reporting of scheduled, nonscheduled, and charter data;

(10) If charter operations are authorized, except as otherwi se provided in the applicable aviation agreement, comply with the Department's rules governing char ters (including 14 CFR Parts 212 and 380); and

(11) Comply with such other reasonable terms, conditions , and limitations required by the public interest as may be prescribed by the Department, with all applicable orders or regulations of other U.S. agen cies and courts, and with all applicable laws of the United States.

This authority shall not be effective during any period wh en the holder is not in compliance with the conditions imposed above. Moreover, this authority cannot be sold or otherwise transferred without explicit Department approval

under Title 49 of the U.S. Code.

12/2007