| |
Who Owns the Air?
Oct 07, 2007 |
Supplement to Section II, Chapter 8: Common Sense & The Law
|
Air is a handy gas for both breathing and flying but, like most aspects
of life, its gets regulated. Sometimes municipalities or other entities,
pardon the pun, get in over their heads.
In the U.S., navigable airspace is strictly the purview of federal
government. That doesn't stop local entities from trying, however, to
regulate it. Even state agencies have tried.
Pilots have indeed been victorious fighting violations of such bogus
laws but at considerable personal expense. It's always best for one's
pocketbook to avoid the confrontation. It's maddening, though, and I
applaud those who do fight it.
Here's what's on the books. Thanks to John Fetz for locating it on the
Cornell University Law School site. Links to other parts of the
statute were left intact but will take you away from FootFlyer.com. Here
is the
U.S. Government site.
TITLE 49 Transportation >
SUBTITLE VII Aviation Programs >
PART A Air Commerce and Safety >
subpart i >
CHAPTER 401 > § 40103 § 40103. Sovereignty and
use of airspace
(a)
Sovereignty and Public Right of Transit.—
(1)
The United States Government has exclusive
sovereignty of airspace of the United States.
(2)
A citizen of the United States has a public
right of transit through the navigable airspace. To further that
right, the Secretary of Transportation shall consult with the
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
established under section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C.
792) before prescribing a regulation or issuing an order or
procedure that will have a significant impact on the accessibility
of commercial airports or commercial air transportation for
handicapped individuals.
(b)
Use of Airspace.—
(1)
The Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall develop plans and policy for the use of the
navigable airspace and assign by regulation or order the use of
the airspace necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft and the
efficient use of airspace. The Administrator may modify or revoke
an assignment when required in the public interest.
(2)
The Administrator shall prescribe air
traffic regulations on the flight of aircraft (including
regulations on safe altitudes) for—
(A)
navigating, protecting, and identifying
aircraft;
(B)
protecting individuals and property on
the ground;
(C)
using the navigable airspace
efficiently; and
(D)
preventing collision between aircraft,
between aircraft and land or water vehicles, and between
aircraft and airborne objects.
(3)
To establish security provisions that will
encourage and allow maximum use of the navigable airspace by civil
aircraft consistent with national security, the Administrator, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall—
(A)
establish areas in the airspace the
Administrator decides are necessary in the interest of
national defense; and
(B)
by regulation or order, restrict or
prohibit flight of civil aircraft that the Administrator
cannot identify, locate, and control with available facilities
in those areas.
(4)
Notwithstanding the military exception in
section
553
(a)(1) of title
5, subchapter
II of chapter
5 of title
5 applies to a regulation prescribed under this subsection.
(c)
Foreign Aircraft.— A
foreign aircraft, not part of the armed forces of a foreign country,
may be navigated in the United States as provided in section
41703 of this title.
(d)
Aircraft of Armed Forces of Foreign Countries.—
Aircraft of the armed forces of a foreign
country may be navigated in the United States only when authorized by
the Secretary of State.
(e)
No Exclusive Rights at Certain Facilities.—
A person does not have an exclusive right to use
an air navigation facility on which Government money has been
expended. However, providing services at an airport by only one
fixed-based operator is not an exclusive right if—
(1)
it is unreasonably costly, burdensome, or
impractical for more than one fixed-based operator to provide the
services; and
(2)
allowing more than one fixed-based operator to
provide the services requires a reduction in space leased under an
agreement existing on September 3, 1982, between the operator and
the airport.
|
