H.R. 1536 — PIFAA

This section states congressional findings that (1) limited air competition has made flights from Guam to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or Hawaii expensive; (2) Antonio B. Won Pat Guam International Airport, Francisco C. Ada Saipan International Airport, Francisco Manglona Borja Tinian International Airport, and Benjamin Taisacan Manglona Rota International Airport rely on foreign air carriers for travel; (3) Japan, the Philippines, and the Republic of Korea are critical U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region; and (4) air carriers from those nations supplement U.S. carriers serving Pacific Islands.

This section establishes an exception to the cabotage prohibition in 49 U.S.C. § 41703(c)—which generally bars foreign aircraft from carrying passengers or cargo between two U.S. points for compensation—for passengers or cargo added to or removed from an authorized Pacific aircraft at a place in Guam or the Northern Mariana Islands during otherwise international transportation. Authorized Pacific aircraft are those registered to a foreign air carrier from Japan, the Philippines, or the Republic of Korea that holds a permit under 49 U.S.C. § 41302. (Thus, these aircraft may provide local service in Guam or the Northern Mariana Islands without violating the cabotage restriction, paralleling the existing cargo-only exception for Alaska in subsection (e).)