§41716 Interim Slot Rules at New York Airports

Summary

The Secretary of Transportation must allow exceptions to the slot rules so airlines can run nonstop flights with planes that seat under 71 between LaGuardia or JFK and small hub or nonhub airports. An airline can get an exception if it did not fly that route in the week of November 1, 1999; or if the new weekly flights are more than it flew that week; or if a regional jet replaces a turboprop that was flown that week. New or limited incumbent carriers can get exemptions so long as their slots plus exemptions at an airport do not go over 20. The Secretary may allow up to 4 extra exemptions at LaGuardia for incumbents that had 20–28 slots as of October 1, 2004. Exemptions are only for Stage 3 aircraft (as the Secretary defines). Carriers that were flying these exempt routes on or before the enactment date may not stop the route before July 1, 2003 unless they gave written notice before October 1, 1999, or they filed a termination notice after September 30, 1999 and the Secretary finds they had excessive losses, including large losses in any three quarters of the prior year.