57350 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 189 / Friday, September 30, 2005 / Notices 

reconsideration of the ineligibility 

determination. A request for 

reconsideration must be submitted in 

writing within 30 days after a person 

has been informed of the adverse 

decision, in accordance with 22 CFR 

127.7(d) and 128.13(a). 

This notice is provided for purposes 

of making the public aware that the 

persons listed above are prohibited from 

participating directly or indirectly in 

any brokering activities and in any 

export from or temporary import into 

the United States of defense articles, 

related technical data, or defense 

services in all situations covered by the 

ITAR. Specific case information may be 

obtained from the Office of the Clerk for 

the U.S. District Courts mentioned 

above and by citing the court case 

number where provided. 

This notice involves a foreign affairs 

function of the United States 

encompassed within the meaning of the 

military and foreign affairs exclusion of 

the Administrative Procedure Act. 

Because the exercise of this foreign 

affairs function is discretionary, it is 

excluded from review under the 

Administrative Procedure Act. 

Dated: September 22, 2005. 

Rose M. Likins, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for PoliticalMilitary Affairs, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 05–19642 Filed 9–29–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–25–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice 5167] 

Meeting of Advisory Committee on 

International Communications and 

Information Policy 

The Department of State announces 

the next meeting of its Advisory 

Committee on International 

Communications and Information 

Policy (ACICIP) to be held on Thursday, 

October 20, 2005, from 2 p.m. to 4:30 

p.m., in the Loy Henderson Auditorium 

of the Harry S. Truman Building of the 

U.S. Department of State. The Truman 

Building is located at 2201 C Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20520. 

The committee provides a formal 

channel for regular consultation and 

coordination on major economic, social 

and legal issues and problems in 

international communications and 

information policy, especially as these 

issues and problems involve users of 

information and communications 

services, providers of such services, 

technology research and development, 

foreign industrial and regulatory policy, 

the activities of international 

organizations with regard to 

communications and information, and 

developing country issues. 

The meeting will be led by ACICIP 

Vice Chair Mr. Rhett Dawson of the 

Information Technology Industry 

Council. Ambassador David A. Gross, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary and U.S. 

Coordinator for International 

Communications and Information 

Policy, and other senior State 

Department and U.S. Government 

officials will also address the meeting. 

The main focus of the event will be to 

discuss U.S.-India relations, with an 

emphasis on industry input for the first 

meeting of the newly-formed U.S.-India 

Information and Communications 

Technologies Working Group. State 

Department officials will also present a 

status report on preparations for the 

second phase of the World Summit on 

the Information Society, which will take 

place in Tunis, Tunisia from November 

16–18, 2005. 

Members of the public may attend 

these meetings up to the seating 

capacity of the room. While the meeting 

is open to the public, admittance to the 

Department of State building is only by 

means of a pre-arranged clearance list. 

In order to be placed on the preclearance list, please provide your 

name, title, organization, social security 

number, date of birth, and citizenship to 

Robert M. Watts at wattsrm@state.gov no 

later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 

18, 2005. All attendees for this meeting 

must use the 23rd Street entrance. One 

of the following valid ID’s will be 

required for admittance: Any U.S. 

driver’s license with photo, a passport, 

or a U.S. Government agency ID. NonU.S. Government attendees must be 

escorted by Department of State 

personnel at all times when in the 

building. 

For further information, please 

contact Robert M. Watts, Executive 

Secretary of the Committee, at 202–647–

5820 or by e-mail at wattsrm@state.gov. 

Dated: September 23, 2005. 

Robert M. Watts, 

Executive Secretary, ACICIP, Department of 

State. 

[FR Doc. 05–19641 Filed 9–29–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Minimum Slot Usage Requirement 

ACTION: Notice of denial of request for 

waiver of the minimum slot usage 

requirement. 

SUMMARY: The FAA recently issued a 

letter responding to a request from the 

Regional Airlines Association (RAA) for 

a blanket waiver of the minimum slot 

usage requirement for all slots at the 

three High Density Traffic Airports. The 

text of that letter is set forth in this 

notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lorelei Peter, Senior Attorney, Office of 

the Chief Counsel, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; 

telephone (202) 267–3073. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Deborah 

C. McElroy, President, Regional Airline 

Association, 2025 M Street, NW., Suite 

800, Washington, DC 20036–3309. 

Dear Ms. McElroy: This is in response 

to your September 9 letter, submitted on 

behalf of the Regional Airline 

Association’s (RAA) membership, 

requesting a waiver of the ‘‘use or lose’’

requirements for slots and slot 

exemptions held by RAA members at 

John F. Kennedy International (JFK), 

LaGuardia (LGA) and Ronald Reagan 

Washington National Airports (DCA) for 

the period August 29, 2005 through 

March 29, 2006. 

Section 93.227, subsection (j) of Title 

14 of the Code of Federal Regulations 

provides that the Chief Counsel of the 

FAA may waive the usage requirements 

of paragraph (a) of that section in the 

case of ‘‘a highly unusual and 

unpredictable condition which is 

beyond the control of the slot-holder 

and which exists for a period of 9 or 

more days.’’ As an example, of such a 

condition, subsection 93.227(j) gives, 

‘‘weather conditions which request in 

the restricted operation of an airport for 

an extended period of time.’’

RRA points to factors beyond the 

carriers’ control—including record fuel 

costs, potential disruptions in fuel 

supplies, airport closing and major 

changes in travel patterns—that are 

creating economic difficulties for 

airlines of the like that have not been 

experienced since the aftermath of 

September 11 or the Gulf War. Your 

petition further states that the carriers’

inability to raise fares to recoup higher 

fuel costs will necessitate schedule 

changes, which will result in either 

utilization of slots below the 80% 

minimum specified in our regulations or 

the operation of flights solely to 

preserve slot holdings. Additionally, 

you note that recent challenges to fuel 

supplies and further increases in fuel 

costs due to the impact of Hurricane 

Katrina have critically exacerbated the 

situation. 

Your association requests a waiver on 

behalf of its members for usage 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 189 / Friday, September 30, 2005 / Notices 57351 

requirements on all slots and slot 

exemptions at JFK, LGA, and DCA 

beginning with the initial period 

following the hurricane through the 

winter scheduling season. 

This office received comments on 

your petition from JetBlue Airways 

Corp. and US Airways, Inc. JetBlue 

opposes the requested waiver 

principally on the ground that the 

request is ‘‘overly broad’’ because the 

proposed waiver would affect slots 

beyond those needed to serve airports 

directly impacted by Hurricane Katrina, 

such as New Orleans (MSY). JetBlue 

would support a more limited waiver 

concerning flights between such 

airports, and the slot-controlled airports. 

According to JetBlue, RAA has not make 

and adequate demonstration of need for 

a broader wavier, given the existing 

demand by JetBlue and others for scarce 

take-off and landing rights at DCA and 

LGA. JetBlue argues that underutilized 

slots should be returned to the FAA for 

redistribution under Part 93. 

US Airways supports the RAA 

petition and requests its own (identical) 

relief, specifically, a waiver of the slot 

usage requirements for all operable slots 

and slot exemptions at DCA and LGA 

through March 2006. US Airways recites 

many of the same facts described in the 

RAA petition, emphasizing actual and 

potential disruptions in the nation’s 

refining capacity, which drive up fuel 

costs. US Airways states that a waiver 

would give it ‘‘scheduling and 

operational flexibility * * * to 

rationalize its services as much as 

possible’’ in light of Katrina and related 

events. The carrier also points out that 

a variety of other federal agencies (such 

as EPA, the Department of Energy, and 

IRS) have waived various regulatory 

requirements to facilitate hurricane 

relief and recovery efforts. 

On September 19, 2005 we granted a 

request from American Airlines, Inc. to 

waive the slot usage requirements with 

respect to four specifically identified 

slots that the carrier was scheduled to 

use from September 1 through 

December 31, 2005 for flights from LGA 

to MSY. We noted that this requested 

waiver satisfied the criteria listed in 

section 93.227(j). 

We are receptive to specific requests 

for short-term waivers from the slot 

usage requirements, i.e., with respect to 

service from any slot-controlled airport 

to/from airports affected by the recent 

hurricanes. We recognize that slot 

holders may well have difficulty 

meeting the rule’s usage requirements 

when the extraordinary and devastating 

effects of the hurricane have interfered 

with their ability to sustain service in 

that region. 

The FAA stands ready to work with 

the affected carriers and their trade 

associations to address such situations. 

(Of course, if carriers are expecting to 

cancel operations for some or all of the 

winter season, please advise our slot 

program office as soon as possible since 

other carriers might be interested in 

utilizing the slots on a temporary basis, 

thus avoiding their potential withdrawal 

under the ‘‘use or lose’’ rule.) 

Because, however, many of the 

circumstances cited in your petition go 

to longstanding and fundamental 

obstacles to airline profitability, and are 

not specific to Katrina, I do not find that 

the criteria in section 93.227(j) have 

been satisfied. Therefore, I am denying 

your petition but without prejudice to 

your renewing your request on a more 

specific, limited basis. 

If you have further questions on this 

matter, please contact Lorelei Peter on 

my staff at 202–267–3134. 

Sincerely, 

Andrew B. Steinberg, 

Chief Counsel. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 

23, 2005. 

Gary A. Michel, 

Acting Assistant Chief Counsel for 

Regulations. 

[FR Doc. 05–19600 Filed 9–29–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Noise Exposure Map Notice, Laredo 

International Airport, Laredo, TX 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) announces its 

determination that the noise exposure 

maps submitted by the City of Laredo 

for Laredo International Airport under 

the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 47501 et. 

seq. (Aviation Safety and Noise 

Abatement Act) and 14 CFR part 150 are 

in compliance with applicable 

requirements. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: The effective date of the 

FAA’s determination on the noise 

exposure maps is September 22, 2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

Blackford, Federal Aviation 

Administration, Airports Division, 2601 

Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 

76137–4298, telephone (817) 222–5607. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice announces that the FAA finds 

that the noise exposure maps submitted 

by the City of Laredo, Texas for Laredo 

International Airport are in compliance 

with applicable requirements of Part 

150, effective September 22, 2005. 

Under 49 U.S.C. 47503 of the Aviation 

Safety and Noise Abatement Act 

(hereinafter referred to as ‘‘the Act’’), an 

airport operator may submit to the FAA 

noise exposure maps which meet 

applicable regulations and which depict 

non-compatible land uses as of the date 

of submission of such maps, a 

description of projected aircraft 

operations, and the ways in which such 

operations will affect such maps. The 

Act requires such maps to be developed 

in consultation with interested and 

affected parties in the local community, 

government agencies, and persons using 

the airport. An airport operator who has 

submitted noise exposure maps that are 

found by FAA to be in compliance with 

the requirements of Federal Aviation 

Regulations (FAR) part 150, 

promulgated pursuant to the Act, may 

submit a noise compatibility program 

for FAA approval which sets forth the 

measures the operator has taken or 

proposes to take to reduce existing noncompatible uses and prevent the 

introduction of additional noncompatible uses. 

The FAA has completed its review of 

the noise exposure maps and 

accompanying documentation 

submitted by the City of Laredo. The 

documentation that constitutes the 

‘‘noise exposure maps’’ as defined in 

section 150.7 of Part 150 includes the 

following from the August 2005, FAR 

Part 150 Noise Compatibility Study: 

Exhibit 4.5, Year 2005 Existing 

Condition Noise Exposure Map; Exhibit 

5.2, Year 2010 Future Condition Noise 

Exposure Map; Appendix J maps 

consisting of Touch And Go/Overflight 

Flight Tracks Map, Departure Flight 

Tracks Map, and Arrival Flight Tracks 

Map; Table 4.4, 2005 Existing Condition 

Noise Exposure Estimates; Table 5.2, 

2010 Future Condition-Case 1 Noise 

Exposure Estimates. There are no 

Historic Resources within the DNL 65 

contour. The FAA has determined that 

these noise exposure maps and 

accompanying documentation are in 

compliance with applicable 

requirements. This determination is 

effective on September 22, 2005. 

FAA’s determination on an airport 

operator’s noise exposure maps is 

limited to a finding that the maps were 

developed in accordance with the 

procedures contained in appendix A of 

FAR part 150. Such determination does 

not constitute approval of the 

applicant’s data, information or plans, 

or a commitment to approve a noise 

compatibility program or to fund the