DOT Delays Conclusion of Rulemaking, Impacts Timing of Potential EU/U.S. Agreement

On Aug. 15, ACI-NA learned that the U.S. has informed its European Union counterparts that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has determined that its original timetable for concluding its Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) on the Actual Control of U.S. Air Carriers would not make it possible for DOT to address Congressional concerns about the SNPRM sufficiently. Therefore, DOT does not anticipate that it would be able to finalize its rulemaking prior to the October 12 meeting of the European Council of Transport Ministers. At their Oct. 12 meeting, the Ministers had been going to evaluate the results of the SNPRM in deciding whether to approve the draft E.U./U.S. Air Transport Agreement reached in Nov. 2005. The U.S. indicated that it rulemaking process will continue and that the U.S. remains committed to concluding the Agreement by the end of this year and will work closely with the E.U. to fulfill the shared commitment in the 2003 E.U./U.S. Summit to: "to build upon the framework of existing agreements with the goal of opening access to markets and maximizing benefits for consumers, airlines and communities on both sides of the Atlantic."

For more information, contact ACI-NA's Diane Peterson.