[109th Congress Public Law 352]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


[DOCID: f:publ352.109]

[[Page 120 STAT. 2011]]

Public Law 109-352
109th Congress

                                 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. <<NOTE: Oct. 13, 2006 -  [S. 3661]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress <<NOTE: Wright Amendment Reform Act 
of 2006.>> 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 <<NOTE: Effective date.>> 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as amended by subsection (a), is repealed on the date that is 8 years 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.

[[Page 120 STAT. 2012]]

    (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.

[[Page 120 STAT. 2013]]

            (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).

[[Page 120 STAT. 2014]]

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.

    Approved October 13, 2006.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 3661 (H.R. 5830):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SENATE REPORTS: No. 109-317 (Comm. on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 152 (2006):
            Sept. 29, considered and passed Senate and House.

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