Opinion ID: 246742
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: — Presidential Approval.

Text: 4 We are obliged first to consider TWA's contention that the exemption authorization, which is an exemption from the requirement for a certificate, is invalid because it did not have presidential approval under § 801 of the Act. The Board and intervenor urge such approval is not required. No court has passed directly on this question. 5 Section 801 of the Act deals in terms of issuance, denial, transfer, amendment, cancellation, suspension, or revocation of, and the terms, conditions, and limitations contained in, any certificate authorizing an air carrier to engage in overseas or foreign air transportation   . and these require presidential approval. The Waterman case 4 makes clear that Board action affected by this provision (§ 801) is not subject to judicial review. Hence, if § 801 applies, these petitions must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. 6 We are not persuaded, however, that an exemption which for a limited period authorizes a carrier to transport overseas mail between points already receiving certified cargo service from the same carrier is subject to the restrictions of § 801. Section 801 contains no reference to exemptions although it recites explicitly a whole series of Board actions relative to certificates affected by the statute. True, the exemption has operative effects not unlike an amendment of a certificate, but the extraordinary power vested in the Executive by this statute should not be expanded beyond the needs of the foreign relations considerations which have been relied on to justify the grant. Chicago & Southern Air Lines, Inc. v. Waterman S.S. Corp., note 4 supra, 333 U.S. at page 111, 68 S.Ct. at page 436. 7 These factors — the uniqueness of the statutory provision, its drastic impact, the precise definition of the statute, and the Board's interpretations fortify the conclusion that Congress did not intend to include exemptions in § 801. The enduring and continuing character of the operations under a certificate as contrasted with the temporary and limited character of the exemption supply the most important basis for distinction. 8