 

			  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

		        DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

			  OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

			          WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on April 29, 2004

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET OST 2004-17646

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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:  April 27,
2004, as supplemented April 29, 2004

Relief requested:  Exemption from 49 U.S.C. section 40109(g) to permit
the applicant to operate three, one-way cargo charter flights, using its
AN-124-100 aircraft, carrying helicopters on behalf of the Department of
Defense, during the period April 30-May 10, 2004.  Each flight will be
from Williams Gateway Airport, Arizona, to Pope Air Force Base, North
Carolina.  The applicant stated that the Department of Defense urgently
needs lift of the cargo in order to meet training and mission schedules,
that the cargo is too large for transportation on U.S.-carrier aircraft;
and that surface transportation is not feasible because of the cargo’s
delicate nature, large size and urgent need for quick 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:  April 29,
2004

Effective dates of authority granted:  April 29, 2004, through May 10,
2004

Basis for approval:  We are granting Volga-Dnepr’s request to operate
its proposed three, one-way flights from Williams Gateway Airport to
Pope Air Force Base, through May 10, 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 urgent
need to move the helicopters promptly to meet urgent training and
mission schedules, the fact that the cargo could not be transported by
surface transportation because of its delicate nature, large size and
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

