UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on April 27 , 20 1 2

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN

-- DOCKET DOT

- OST

- 20 1 2

- 0062

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

Applicant : Cherokee Air, Ltd. (Cherokee) Date Filed: April 20, 2012

Relief requested : E xemption under 49 U.S.C. § 4 0109 to engage in charter foreign air transportation of persons

, property, and mail between a point or points in the Bahamas and a point or points in Florida, and other charters subject to Part 212 of the Department’s Economic Regulations, using small aircraft

. Applicant representative: Pierre Murphy (202) 776

- 3980 DOT analyst: Brett D. Kruger ( 202 ) 366

- 8025

Responsive pleadings: None.

DISPOSITION

Action: Approved

. 1 Action date: April 27 , 2012 2

Effective dates of authority granted: April 27 , 2012 , through April 27 , 201 3

. Basis for approval (bil ateral agreement/reciprocity): Comity and reciprocity with the Bahamas

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

Special conditions/Remarks: We found that the applicant is operationally and financially qualified to conduct its proposed operations and is substantially owned and effectively controlled by citizens of it s claimed homeland

. 3 We also note that the applicant is properly licensed by its homeland to perform the propose d services. In addition, on April 2 6 , 2012, the

FAA advised us that it knew of no reason to withhold this authority

. In the conduct of these operations, the applicant may only use aircraft designed to have a maximum passenger capacity

of not more than 60 seats and a maximum payload capacity of not more than 18,000 pounds.

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 w ith Department policy; (2) the applicant w as qualified to perform its proposed operations; (3) grant of the authority was consistent with the public interest; and (4) grant of the authority would not constitute a major regulatory action under the Energy Poli cy and

Conservation Act of 1975. To the extent not granted/deferred/dismissed, 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 for r eview of the action set forth in this Notice under the Department’s regulations, 14 CFR §385.30, may file their petitions within seven (7) days after the date of issuance of this Notice. This action was ef fective 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

1 Cherokee’s previous permit and exemption authority lapsed when the applicant failed to seek timely renewal. See Dockets DOT

OST

- 2001

- 9566 and DOT

- OST

- 2003

- 14514. Our approval of its present request does not serve to insulate the applicant from any enforcement action which may be taken by the Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings.

2 We acted on the request before the expiration of the 15

- day answer peri od with the consent of all parties served.

3 The record indicates that Cherokee’s shares are held by four citizens of the Bahamas and that its President, Director of Operations, Chief Pilot, and Director of Safety are citizens of the Bahamas.

### 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 such authorization with the Department;

(2) Comply with all applicable requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, and with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, including, but not limited
to, 14 CFR Pa rts 129, 91, and 36 and 49 CFR Part 1546 or 1550, as applicable. To assure compliance with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, the holder shall, before commencing any new service (including charter flights) from a foreign airp ort that would be the holder’s last point of departure for the United States,

contact its International Industry Representative (IIR) (formerly referred to as International Principal Security Inspector ) to advise the I IR of its plans and to find out whethe r 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 coverage contained in 14 CFR Part 205, and, prior to the

commencement of a ny operations under this authority, file evidence of such coverage, in the form of a completed OST Form 6411, with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Program Management Branch (AFS

- 260), Flight Standards Service (any changes to, or termination of, insur ance also shall be filed with that office);

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

(5) Conform to the airworthiness and airman comp etency 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 Warsaw Convention liability l imits 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 tribuna l in the United States that are: (a) based on its operations in international air transportation that, according to the contract of carriage, include a point in the United States as a point of origin, 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 tribunal of the United States. In this condition, the term "international air transpo rtation" means "international transportation" as defined by the Warsaw Convention, except that all States shall be considered to be High Contracting 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 ot herwise provided in the applicable aviation agreement, comply with the Department's rules governing charters (including 14 CFR Parts 212 and 380); and

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

This authority shall not be effective during any period when the holder is not in com pliance 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.

1 2/2007