[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3661 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3661
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend section 29 of the International Air Transportation Competition
Act of 1979 relating to air transportation to and from Love Field,
Texas.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Wright Amendment Reform Act of
2006''.
SEC. 2. 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, or 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repealed on the date that is 8 years after the date of enactment of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.
SEC. 3. 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.
SEC. 4. 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.--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; except for--
(1) flights operated by an agency of the Federal Government
or by an air carrier under contract with an agency of the
Federal Government; and
(2) irregular operations.
(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.
SEC. 5. LOVE FIELD GATES.
(a) 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. The
city of Dallas, pursuant to its authority to operate and regulate the
airport as granted under chapter 22 of the Texas Transportation Code
and this Act, shall determine the allocation of leased gates and manage
Love Field in accordance with contractual rights and obligations
existing as of the effective date of this Act for certificated air
carriers providing scheduled passenger service at Love Field on July
11, 2006. To accommodate new entrant air carriers, the city of Dallas
shall honor the scarce resource provision of the existing Love Field
leases.
(b) Removal of Gates at Love Field.--No Federal funds or passenger
facility charges may be used to remove gates at the Lemmon Avenue
facility, Love Field, in reducing the number of gates as required under
this Act, but Federal funds or passenger facility charges may be used
for other airport facilities under chapter 471 of title 49, United
States Code.
(c) General Aviation.--Nothing in 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.--
(1) In general.--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 actions, either
self-initiated or on behalf of third parties--
(A) that are inconsistent with the contract dated
July 11, 2006, entered into by the city of Dallas, the
city of Fort Worth, the DFW International Airport
Board, and others regarding the resolution of the
Wright Amendment issues, unless actions by the parties
to the contract are not reasonably necessary to
implement such contract; or
(B) that challenge the legality of any provision of
such contract.
(2) Compliance with title 49 requirements.--A contract
described in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection, and any
actions taken by the parties to such contract that are
reasonably necessary to implement its provisions, shall be
deemed to comply in all respects with the parties' obligations
under title 49, United States Code.
(e) Limitation 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 security programs of the Department of Homeland
Security, including 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 the city of Dallas has
reduced the number of gates at Love Field as required
by subsection (a); 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 (a); or
(ii) to modify or eliminate preferential
gate 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.
SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY.
The provisions of this Act shall apply to actions taken with
respect to Love Field, Texas, or air transportation to or from 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, or both).
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Sections 1 through 6, including 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 which are likely to be conducted after enactment of 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.
Passed the Senate September 29, 2006.
Attest:
Secretary.
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3661
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend section 29 of the International Air Transportation Competition
Act of 1979 relating to air transportation to and from Love Field,
Texas.