 

			  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

		        DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

			  OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

			          WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on January 22, 2004

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET OST 2004-16947

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________________________________________________________

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:  January 21, 2004

Relief requested:  Exemption from 49 U.S.C. section 40109(g) to permit
the applicant to operate, on behalf of the Department of Defense, one,
one-way cargo charter flight, carrying helicopters from Pope Air Force
Base, North Carolina, to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, on
January 23, 2004, using its AN-124-100 aircraft.  The applicant stated
that the Department of Defense currently does not have non-civilian lift
available to carry these helicopters, urgently needs prompt shipment of
the cargo to Arizona to meet an extremely tight military exercise
schedule, that the cargo is too large for transportation on U.S.-carrier
aircraft; and that surface transportation is not feasible because of the
nature of the cargo and the urgent need for prompt delivery.

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
operation 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).

                                                                        
        DISPOSITION

Action: Approved                                                        
                                             Action date:  January 22,
2004

Effective dates of authority granted:  January 22, 2004, through January
23, 2004

Basis for approval:  We are granting Volga-Dnepr’s request to operate
its proposed one-way flight from Pope Air Force Base to Davis-Monthan
Air Force Base, through January 23, 2004.  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 military schedule, the fact
that the cargo could not be transported by surface transportation
because of its nature and the Department of Defense need for prompt
delivery, 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 operations at
issue here.  We also found that grant of this authority would prevent
unreasonable hardship to the Department of Defense.  Finally, we found
that the applicant was qualified to perform its proposed operation.

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:        Karan K. Bhatia

                                  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

