49 U.S.C. § 44706 — Airport operating certificates
submitted 32 years ago by Pub. L. 103-272 to r/title-49-TRANSPORTATION · 428 words · no verdicts yet
The FAA must certify airports that serve larger passenger flights. Certificates must require adequate firefighting, rescue equipment, and runway friction treatment. The Administrator may exempt very small airports from the equipment rules.
(a) General.— The Administrator must issue an airport operating certificate to anyone who wants to run an airport that (1) serves an air carrier flying aircraft built for at least 31 passenger seats; (2) is outside Alaska and serves any scheduled passenger flight on an air carrier aircraft built for more than 9 but fewer than 31 seats; or (3) the Administrator otherwise requires to have a certificate — as long as an investigation finds the applicant is properly and adequately equipped and able to operate safely under this part and its rules and standards.
(b) Terms.— An airport operating certificate must include terms needed for safety in air transportation. Unless the Administrator decides it would not serve the public interest, those terms must cover (1) operating and maintaining adequate safety equipment, including firefighting and rescue equipment that can quickly reach any part of the airport used for landing, takeoff, or ground movement of aircraft, and (2) treating primary and secondary runways for friction, if the Secretary of Transportation decides that is necessary.
(c) Exemptions.— The Administrator may excuse an operator of an airport covered by subsection (a) from the firefighting and rescue equipment rules, if that airport handles less than 0.25 percent of all yearly passenger boardings at airports covered by subsection (a), and the Administrator decides the rules would be unreasonably costly, burdensome, or impractical there.
(d) Commuter Airports.— When writing the terms required by subsection (b) for airports covered by subsection (a)(2), the Administrator must look at a reasonable number of alternative rules and pick whichever one costs the least, is most cost-effective, or is least burdensome, while still giving comparable safety to airports covered by subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2).
(e) Effective Date.— A regulation setting the terms required by subsection (b) for airports covered by subsection (a)(2) cannot take effect until Congress has received it, along with a report on its economic impact on air service to those airports, and 120 days have passed since then.
(f) Limitation on Statutory Construction.— Nothing in this title forces someone to get an airport operating certificate if they do not want to run an airport covered by subsection (a).
The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue an airport operating certificate to a person desiring to operate an airport—
that serves an air carrier operating aircraft designed for at least 31 passenger seats;
that is not located in the State of Alaska and serves any scheduled passenger operation of an air carrier operating aircraft designed for more than 9 passenger seats but less than 31 passenger seats; and
that the Administrator requires to have a certificate;
if the Administrator finds, after investigation, that the person properly and adequately is equipped and able to operate safely under this part and regulations and standards prescribed under this part.
An airport operating certificate issued under this section shall contain terms necessary to ensure safety in air transportation. Unless the Administrator decides that it is not in the public interest, the terms shall include conditions related to—
operating and maintaining adequate safety equipment, including firefighting and rescue equipment capable of rapid access to any part of the airport used for landing, takeoff, or surface maneuvering of an aircraft; and
friction treatment for primary and secondary runways that the Secretary of Transportation decides is necessary.
The Administrator may exempt from the requirements of this section, related to firefighting and rescue equipment, an operator of an airport described in subsection (a) of this section having less than .25 percent of the total number of passenger boardings each year at all airports described in subsection (a) when the Administrator decides that the requirements are or would be unreasonably costly, burdensome, or impractical.
In developing the terms required by subsection (b) for airports covered by subsection (a)(2), the Administrator shall identify and consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives and select from such alternatives the least costly, most cost-effective or the least burdensome alternative that will provide comparable safety at airports described in subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2).
Any regulation establishing the terms required by subsection (b) for airports covered by subsection (a)(2) shall not take effect until such regulation, and a report on the economic impact of the regulation on air service to the airports covered by the rule, has been submitted to Congress and 120 days have elapsed following the date of such submission.
Nothing in this title may be construed as requiring a person to obtain an airport operating certificate if such person does not desire to operate an airport described in subsection (a).
Source credit: (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1189; Pub. L. 104–264, title IV, § 404, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3256.)
- 1994Enacted · Pub. L. 103-272 · 108 Stat. 1189
- 1996Amended · Pub. L. 104-264 · 110 Stat. 3256
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 103-272 on 1994-07-05.
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