 

			  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

		        DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

			  OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

			          WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on May 21, 2004

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET OST 2004-17952

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

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:  May 21, 2004

Relief requested:  Exemption from 49 U.S.C. section 40109(g) to permit
the applicant to operate two, one-way cargo charter flights, using its
AN-124-100 aircraft, carrying helicopters on behalf of the Department of
Defense, during the period May 23-27, 2004.  Each flight will be from
Pope AFB, North Carolina, to Victorville, California.   The applicant
stated that the Department of Defense urgently needs lift in order to
meet a tight schedule of positioning the helicopters for military
exercises, 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 large size and urgent need for 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:  May 21, 2004

Effective dates of authority granted:  May 21, 2004, through May 27,
2004

Basis for approval:  We are granting Volga-Dnepr’s request to operate
its proposed two, one-way flights from Pope Air Force Base to
Victorville, through May 27, 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 an urgent exercise schedule, the fact
that the cargo could not be transported by surface transportation
because of its 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

