II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4269 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to promote competition in aviation 

regulation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 7, 2024 

Ms. WARREN (for herself and Mr. HAWLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to promote 

competition in aviation regulation, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Airport Gate Competi5 tion Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROMOTING COMPETITION IN AVIATION REGULA7 TION. 

8 (a) PROMOTING COMPETITION.—Section 40101(d) of 

9 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(8) promoting competition.’’. 

2 (b) MAINTAINING AND ENHANCING COMPETITION IN

3 SLOT ALLOCATION.—Section 40103(b)(1) of title 49, 

4 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘In doing 

5 so, the Administrator shall consider the need to maintain 

6 or enhance competition in the air transportation system.’’ 

7 after ‘‘efficient use of airspace.’’. 

8 (c) ENSURING REASONABLE ACCESS.— 

9 (1) GENERAL WRITTEN ASSURANCES.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 47107(a)(1) of 

11 title 49, United States Code, is amended by in12 serting ‘‘, and the airport proprietor will take 

13 all practicable steps to accommodate requests 

14 for reasonable access (as defined in subsection 

15 (x)) to terminal facilities’’ after ‘‘unjust dis16 crimination’’. 

17 (B) STANDARDS FOR REASONABLE AC18 CESS.—Section 47107 of title 49, United States 

19 Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(x) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) COMMON USE.—The term ‘common use’ 

23 means nonexclusive use in common by air carriers 

24 and other duly authorized users of the airport. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REASONABLE ACCESS.—The term ‘reason2 able access’ means, with respect to terminal facili3 ties, that— 

4 ‘‘(A) not less than 25 percent of terminal 

5 facilities at an airport are available for common 

6 use; and 

7 ‘‘(B) not more than 50 percent of terminal 

8 facilities are reserved for exclusive use by a sin9 gle air carrier. 

10 ‘‘(3) TERMINAL FACILITIES.—The term ‘ter11 minal facilities’ means facilities within the terminal 

12 of an airport, including gates, ticket counters, bag13 gage claim areas, and baggage make up system 

14 spaces.’’. 

15 (2) LEASE APPROVAL.—Section 47107 of title 

16 49, United States Code, as amended by paragraph 

17 (1), is amended by adding at the end the following 

18 new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(y) WRITTEN ASSURANCES ON LEASE AGREE20 MENTS.—The Secretary of Transportation may approve 

21 an application under this subchapter for an airport devel22 opment project grant only if the Secretary receives written 

23 assurances, satisfactory to the Secretary, that, with re24 spect to any airport serving 0.25 percent or more of the 

25 total annual enplanements in the United States (calVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Jun 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4269.IS S4269

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1 culated on a rolling 5-year average) and with more than 

2 50 percent of passengers (calculated on a rolling 5-year 

3 average) handled by 2 air carriers or less, the airport 

4 owner shall submit to the Secretary any proposed lease, 

5 lease amendment, or lease extension (including carryover 

6 provisions) for advance approval, as well as a statement 

7 detailing how such proposed lease, lease amendment, or 

8 lease extension maintains or enhances competition in the 

9 air transportation system.’’. 

10 (d) COMPETITION PLANS.—Section 40117(d) of title 

11 49, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

13 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

14 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

16 paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(5) beginning in fiscal year 2026, in the case 

18 of an application for a terminal project, the project 

19 will provide for reasonable access (as defined in sec20 tion 47107(x)) to terminal facilities.’’. 

21 (e) COMPETITION DISCLOSURE.—Section 47107(r) 

22 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 

23 paragraph (3). 

Æ 


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