Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Wright Amendment Reform Act

Modification of provisions regarding flights to and from Love Field, Texas

(a)

Expanded service

Section 29(c) of the International Air Transportation Competition Act of 1979 (Public Law 96–192; 94 Stat. 35) is amended by striking carrier, if (1) and all that follows and inserting the following: carrier. Air carriers and, with regard to foreign air transportation, foreign air carriers, may offer for sale and provide through service and ticketing to or from Love Field, Texas, and any United States or foreign destination through any point within Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Alabama.. (b)

Repeal

Section 29 of the International Air Transportation Competition Act of 1979 (94 Stat. 35), as amended by subsection (a), is repealed on the date that is 8 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

Treatment of international nonstop flights to and from Love Field, Texas

No person shall provide, or offer to provide, air transportation of passengers for compensation or hire between Love Field, Texas, and any point or points outside the 50 States or the District of Columbia on a nonstop basis, and no official or employee of the Federal Government may take any action to make or designate Love Field as an initial point of entry into the United States or a last point of departure from the United States.

Charter flights at Love Field, Texas

(a)

In general

Charter flights (as defined in section 212.2 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations) at Love Field, Texas, shall be limited to— (1)destinations within the 50 States and the District of Columbia, and (2)no more than 10 per month per air carrier for charter flights beyond the States of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Alabama. (b)

Carriers who lease gates

Except for any flights operated by any agency of the Federal Government or by any air carrier under contract with any agency of the Federal Government and except in irregular operations described in the agreement referred to in section 5(a), all flights operated to or from Love Field by air carriers that lease terminal gate space at Love Field shall depart from and arrive at one of those leased gates. (c)

Carriers who do not lease gates

Charter flights from Love Field, Texas, operated by air carriers that do not lease terminal space at Love Field may operate from nonterminal facilities or one of the terminal gates at Love Field.

Agreement of the parties

(a)

In general

Any action taken by the city of Dallas, the city of Fort Worth, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, and the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Board (referred to in this section as the parties) that is reasonably necessary to implement the provisions of the agreement dated July 11, 2006, and entitled CONTRACT AMONG THE CITY OF DALLAS, THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO., AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC., AND DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT BOARD INCORPORATING THE SUBSTANCE OF THE TERMS OF THE JUNE 15, 2006 JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN THE PARTIES TO RESOLVE THE WRIGHT AMENDMENT ISSUES, and the agreement, shall be deemed to comply in all respects with the parties’ obligations under title 49, United States Code, and any competition laws. (b)

Love field gates

(1)

In general

The city of Dallas, Texas, shall reduce, as soon as practicable, the number of gates available for passenger air service at Love Field to no more than 20 gates. Thereafter, the number of gates available for such service shall not exceed a maximum of 20 gates. (2)

Permissible airport costs

Costs associated with reduction of gates under paragraph (1) are permissible airport costs and shall not be considered as revenue diversion. (c)

General aviation

Nothing in the agreement referred to in subsection (a) and this Act shall affect general aviation service at Love Field, including flights to or from Love Field by general aviation aircraft for air taxi service, private or sport flying, aerial photography, crop dusting, corporate aviation, medical evacuation, flight training, police or fire fighting, and similar general aviation purposes, or by aircraft operated by any agency of the Federal Government or by any air carrier under contract to any agency of the Federal Government. (d)

Enforcement

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may not make findings or determinations, issue orders or rules, withhold airport improvement grants or approvals thereof, deny passenger facility charge applications, or take any other action, either self-initiated or on behalf of third parties, that is inconsistent with the provisions of the agreement referred to in subsection (a) or that challenges the legality of any of its provisions. (e)

Limitations on statutory construction

(1)

In general

Nothing in this Act shall be construed— (A)to limit the obligations of the parties under the programs of the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration relating to aviation safety, labor, environmental, national historic preservation, civil rights, small business concerns (including disadvantaged business enterprise), veteran’s preference, disability access, and revenue diversion; (B)to limit the authority of the Department of Transportation or the Federal Aviation Administration to enforce the obligations of the parties under the programs described in subparagraph (A); (C)to limit the obligations of the parties under the aviation security programs of the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration at Love Field, Texas; (D)to authorize the parties to offer marketing incentives that are in violation of Federal law, rules, orders, agreements, and other requirements; or (E)to limit the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration or any other Federal agency to enforce requirements of law and grant assurances (including subsections (a)(1), (a)(4), and (s) of section 47107 of title 49, United States Code) that impose obligations on Love Field to make its facilities available on a reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis to air carriers seeking to use such facilities, or to withhold grants or deny applications to applicants violating such obligations with respect to Love Field. (2)

Facilities

Paragraph (1)(E)— (A)shall only apply with respect to facilities that remain at Love Field after implementation of subsection (b); and (B)shall not be construed to require the city of Dallas, Texas— (i)to construct additional gates beyond the 20 gates referred to in subsection (b); or (ii)to modify or eliminate preferential leases with air carriers in order to allocate gate capacity to new entrants or to create common use gates, unless such modification or elimination is implemented on a nationwide basis.

Department of Transportation review

The Department of Transportation shall have exclusive authority to review actions taken under this Act (including the agreement referred to in section 5(a)), and actions taken to implement the agreement, with respect to all provisions of title 49, United States Code, and with respect to any Federal competition laws not included in such title that may otherwise apply.

Applicability

The provisions of this Act shall apply only to actions taken by the parties to the agreement referred to in section 5(a) of this Act at Love Field, Texas, and shall have no application to any other airport (other than an airport owned or operated by the city of Dallas or the city of Fort Worth, Texas, or both).

Effective date

Sections 1 through 7 and the amendments made by such sections shall take effect on the date that the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration notifies Congress that aviation operations in the airspace serving Love Field and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Texas, occurring as a result of the agreement referred to in section 5(a) and this Act can be accommodated in full compliance with Federal Aviation Administration safety standards in accordance with section 40101 of title 49, United States Code, and, based on current expectations, without adverse effect on use of airspace in such area.