[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 27 (Friday, February 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7626-7627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 08-573]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. FAA-2008-0036]
RIN 2120-AF90


Policy Regarding Airport Rates and Charges; Extension of Comment 
Period

AGENCY: Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary and 
Federal Aviation Administration.

ACTION: Notice of proposed amendment to policy statement; extension of 
comment period.

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SUMMARY: This action extends the comment period for a proposed 
amendment to the ``Policy Regarding the Establishment of Airport Rates 
and Charges'' that was published on January 17, 2008. In that document, 
the Department of Transportation (``Department'') and the Federal 
Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed to amend the ``Policy Regarding 
the Establishment of Airport Rates and Charges'' published in the 
Federal Register on June 21, 1996 (``1996 Rates and Charges Policy''). 
The Department and the FAA proposed three amendments to the 1996 Rates 
and Charges Policy (two modifications and one clarification). These 
amendments are intended to provide greater flexibility to operators of 
congested airports to use landing fees to provide incentives to air 
carriers to use the airport at less congested times or to use alternate 
airports to meet regional air service needs. Any charges imposed on 
international operations must also comply with the international 
obligations of the United States. This extension is a result of a 
request from the Air Transport Association of America, Inc., the Cargo 
Airline Association, the National Air Carrier Association, and the 
Regional Airline Association on behalf of their members, to extend the 
comment period for thirty days.

DATES: The comment period for the Notice of proposed amendment to 
Policy Regarding the Establishment of Airport Rates and Charges 
published on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3310) was scheduled to close on 
March 3, 2008, and is extended until April 3, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments identified by Docket Number, FAA-2008-
0036 using any of the following methods:
     Government-wide rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending your 
comments electronically.
     Mail: Docket Operations, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Routing 
Symbol M-30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Hand Delivery: To Docket Operations, Room W12-140 on the 
ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590; between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
    For more information on the notice and comment process, see the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    Privacy: We will post all comments we receive, without change, to 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you 
provide. For more information, see the Privacy Act discussion in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    Docket: To read background documents or comments received, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov at any time or to Room W12-140 on the ground 
floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Erhard, Manager, Airport 
Compliance Division, AAS-400, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-
3187; facsimile: (202) 267-5769; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    Interested persons are invited to join in this notice and comment 
process by filing written comments, data, or views. The most helpful 
comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, explain the 
reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. We ask 
that you send us two copies of written comments.
    We will file in the docket all comments we receive, as well as a 
report summarizing each substantive public contact with Department 
personnel about this proposal. The docket is available for public 
inspection before and after the comment closing date. If you wish to 
review the docket in person, go to the address in the ADDRESSES section 
of this document between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. You may also review the docket using

[[Page 7627]]

the Internet at the Web address in the ADDRESSES section.
    Privacy Act: Using the search function of our docket Web site, 
anyone can find and read the comments received into any of our dockets. 
This includes the name of the individual sending the comment (or 
signing the comment for an association, business, labor union). You may 
review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register 
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or you may visit http://www.regulations.gov.
    Before acting on this proposal, we will consider all comments we 
receive on or before the closing the date for comments. We will 
consider comments filed late if it is possible to do so without 
incurring expense or delay. We may change this proposal because of the 
comments we receive.

Proprietary or Confidential Business Information

    Do not file in the docket information that you consider to be 
proprietary or confidential business information. Send or deliver this 
information directly to the person identified in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. You must mark the 
information that you consider proprietary or confidential. If you send 
the information on a disk or CD-ROM, mark the outside of the disk or 
CD-ROM and also identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is proprietary or confidential.
    Under 14 CFR 11.35 (b), when we are aware or proprietary 
information filed with a comment, we do not place it in the docket. We 
hold it in a separate file to which the public does not have access and 
place a note in the docket that we have received it. If we receive a 
request to examine or copy this information, we treat it as any other 
request under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). We process 
such a request under the DOT procedures found in 49 CFR part 7.

Availability of Documents

    You can get an electronic copy using the Internet by:
    (1) Searching the Federal eRulemaking portal (http://www.regulations.gov/search);
    (2) Visiting the FAA's Regulations and Policies Web page at (http://www.faa/gov/regulations_policies); or
    (3) Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html.
    You can also get a copy by sending a request to the Federal 
Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-9680. Make 
sure to identity the docket number, notice number, or amendment number 
of this proceeding.

Authority for This Proceeding

    This notice is published under the authority described in Subtitle 
VII, Part B, Chapter 471, Section 47129 of Title 49 United States Code. 
Under subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary of Transportation 
is required to publish publishing policy statements establishing 
standards or guidelines the Secretary will use in determining the 
reasonableness of airport fees charged to airlines under Section 47129.

Background

    On January 17, 2008, the Department of the FAA issued Notice of 
proposed amendment to the Policy Regarding the Establishment of Airport 
Rates and Charges Docket No. FAA-2008-0036, (73 FR 3310). Comments to 
that document were to be received on or before March 3, 2008.
    By a letter dated January 30, 2008 the Air Transport Association of 
America, Inc. (ATA), the Cargo Airline Association (CAA), the National 
Air Carrier Association (NACA), and the Regional Airline Association 
(RAA), on behalf of their members, requested that the comment period 
for Docket 2008-0036 be extended until April 3, 2008. Industry trade 
groups expressed concern that critical pieces of information were 
missing from the January 17, 2008, notice that are essential to a full 
assessment of the impact of the proposed policy. The following 
information has been added to the docket: the list of secondary 
airports eligible for inclusion in the rate base (FAA Docket 2008-
0036.0007.1); the list of congested airports (based on 1% of delays) 
(FAA Docket 2008-0036-0008.1); the list of airports from the Benchmark 
report (FAA Docket 2008-0036-0009.1). ATA, CAA, NACA and RAA requested 
an extension of the comment period by 30 days to provide sufficient 
time to more fully develop comments reflecting the views of the 
industry stakeholders.
    The Department and the FAA concur with the petitioners' requests 
for an extension of the comment period on FAA Docket 2008-0036 and 
believe an additional 30 days should be adequate to provide more 
complete and meaningful comment.

Extension of Comment Period

    In accordance with Sec.  11.47(c) of title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations, the Department of the FAA have reviewed the petitions made 
by the Air Transport Association of America, Inc. (ATA), the Cargo 
Airline Association (CAA), the National Air Carrier Association (NACA), 
and the Regional Airline Association (RAA), on behalf of their members, 
for extension of the comment period to FAA Docket 2008-0036. These 
petitioners have shown a substantive interest in the proposed amendment 
to the 1996 Policy Regarding Airport Rates and Charges and good cause 
for the extension. The Department and the FAA have determined that 
extension of the comment period is consistent with the public interest, 
and that good cause exists for taking this action.
    Accordingly, the comment period for FAA Docket 2008-0036 is 
extended until April 3, 2008.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 5, 2008.
Rebecca MacPherson,
Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations, Federal Aviation 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 08-573 Filed 2-7-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M