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Slots and Slot Exemptions
At certain U.S. airports, demand for runway operations exceeds available capacity. At these airports, the Department has implemented operational limitations to relieve congestion in the form of airport slots. A slot is an authorization to conduct an...
/office-policy/aviation-policy/alliance-monitoring-overviewU.S. air carriers are required to submit cooperative service agreements that they have with each other, such as reciprocal code sharing, joint frequent flyer and lounge access, and joint marketing, to the Department for review before...
49 USC 41903 requires that duly licensed U.S. certificated carriers transport mail on their authorized foreign air transportation service and their services within Alaska. 49 USC 41901 and 41907 require the Department to “set fair and reasonable rates” that the U.S. Postal Service will...
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics, part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, has taken over responsibility for compiling a rural airports list annually for the Treasury Department/IRS, which is used by airlines to assist in establishing air fares. For...
On October 31, 2024, the Department issued the Small Community Air Service Development Program grant Selection Order. DOT selected 14 applications from 14 States, totaling nearly $12 million in federal grant assistance.
FY 2023 SCASDP Selection Order: October 31, 2024...
The Airline Deregulation Act (ADA), passed in 1978, gave air carriers almost total freedom to determine which markets to serve domestically and what fares to charge for that service. The Essential Air Service (EAS) program was put into place to guarantee that small communities that were served...
Canadian operators of small aircraft (fewer than 30 seats) that want to operate transborder charter services between the United States and Canada must register with the Department under Part...
The Department of Transportation’s public charter regulations (14 CFR Part 380) require all persons who wish to arrange public charter flights to first submit and obtain DOT acceptance of a charter prospectus. A charter prospectus comprises a set of documents in which the public...
Code sharing is a marketing arrangement in which an airline places its designator code on a flight operated by another airline, and sells tickets for that flight. Airlines throughout the world continue to form code-share arrangements to strengthen or expand their market presence and competitive...
Anyone who wants to provide air transportation service as an air carrier must first obtain two separate authorizations from the Department of Transportation:
Economic Authority from the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (the Department) in the form of a certificate for interstate or...