 

			  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

		        DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

			  OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

			          WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on June 23, 2003

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET OST 2003-15477

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

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:  VOLGA-DNEPR J.S. CARGO AIRLINE                              
                       Date Filed:  June 20, 2003

Relief requested:  Exemption from 49 U.S.C. section 40109(g) to permit
the applicant to operate one, one-way cargo charter flight from
Richmond, VA, to Bakersfield, CA, on or about June 25, 2003, using its
AN-124 aircraft to transport a generator rotor attached to a rotor
trailer, on behalf of PG&E National Energy Group.  The applicant stated
that PG&E needs urgent delivery of the equipment in order promptly to
restore and return to service a generation unit for providing power to
the California energy market, that the cargo is too large for
transportation on U.S.-carrier aircraft; and that surface transportation
is not feasible because of the large size and heavy weight of the cargo.

Applicant representative:  Glenn P. Wicks, 202-457-7790         DOT
analyst:  Allen F. Brown, 202-366-2405

Responsive pleadings:  Volga-Dnepr served its application on those U.S.
carriers operating large all-cargo aircraft.  Each carrier indicated
that it did not have aircraft available to conduct the proposed
operations and that it had no comment or did not oppose grant of the
requested authority.

Statutory Standards:  Under 49 U.S.C. section 40109(g), we may authorize
a foreign air carrier to carry commercial traffic between U.S. points
(i.e., cabotage traffic) under limited circumstances.  Specifically, we
must find that the authority is required in the public interest; that
because of an emergency created by unusual circumstances not arising in
the normal course of business the traffic cannot be accommodated by U.S.
carriers holding certificates under 49 U.S.C. section 41102; that all
possible efforts have been made to place the traffic on U.S. carriers;
and that the transportation is necessary to avoid unreasonable hardship
to the traffic involved (an additional required finding, concerning
emergency transportation during labor disputes, was not relevant here). 
For examples of earlier grants of authority of this type, see, i.e.,
Order 2001-5-23.

                                                                        
        DISPOSITION

Action: Approved                                                        
                                               Action date:  June 23,
2003

Effective dates of authority granted:  June 23, 2003, through June 27,
2003

Basis for approval:  We are granting Volga-Dnepr’s request to operate
its proposed flight from Richmond to Bakersfield, during the period June
23-27, 2003.  We found that its request met all the relevant criteria of
49 U.S.C. section 40109(g) for the grant of an exemption of this type
and that the grant was required in the public interest.  Specifically,
we were persuaded that the need to move the cargo promptly in order to
meet the urgent power-restoration schedule, the fact that the cargo
could not be transported by surface transportation because of its large
size and heavy weight, the potential negative impact of delivery delay;
and the unique, outsized nature of the cargo, constituted an emergency
not arising in the normal course of business.  Moreover, based on the
representations of the U.S. carriers, we concluded that no U.S. carrier
had aircraft available that could be used to conduct the operation at
issue here.  We also found that grant of this authority would prevent
unreasonable hardship to PG&E Nationnal Energy Group.  Finally, we found
that the applicant was qualified to perform its proposed operation (see,
e.g., Notice of Action Taken dated August 26, 2002, in Docket
OST-96-1454).

Except to the extent exempted/waived, this authority is subject to our
standard exemption conditions and to the condition that the applicant
must comply with an FAA-approved flight routing for the authorized
operation.

Action taken by:      Read C. Van de Water

                                  Assistant Secretary for Aviation

                                     and International Affairs	

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide
Web at:

http://dms.dot.gov//reports/reports_aviation.asp

