Decision No. 437-A-2012
APPLICATION by Air Alsie A/S, of Denmark, for an exemption from the application of paragraph 57(a) of the Canada Transportation Act, S.C., 1996, c. 10, as amended.
APPLICATION
[1] Air Alsie A/S (applicant) has applied to the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) for an exemption from the requirement to hold a non-scheduled international licence to operate on behalf of Platinum Sky, LLC one foreign originating entity passenger charter flight on November 13, 2012, from Teterboro, New Jersey, United Sates of America to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, continuing on to London (Stanstead), United Kingdom, carrying three passengers, using a Falcon 2000 LX Easy executive type aircraft.
LEGISLATIVE REFERENCES
[2] Pursuant to paragraph 57(a) of the Canada Transportation Act (CTA), no person shall operate an air service unless, in respect of the service, the person holds a licence issued under the CTA.
[3] Pursuant to subsection 80(1) of the CTA, the Agency may exempt a person from the application of provisions of the CTA.
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
[4] The Agency notes that the applicant previously requested an exemption from the requirement to hold a licence. In response to that request, the Agency, in Decision No. 403-A-2012 dated October 22, 2012 exempted the applicant from the requirement to hold a non-scheduled international licence to allow it to operate on behalf of Platinum Sky, LLC one foreign originating entity passenger charter flight on October 23, 2012, from Gibraltar to Toronto, Ontario, Canada continuing on to Teterboro.
[5] The requirement to hold a licence to operate an air service is a significant obligation that persons that propose to operate a service must comply with. Therefore, the Agency considers that exemptions from paragraph 57(a) of the CTA should be granted only in exceptional circumstances and the Agency must be provided with sufficient time to consider any applications for such exemptions. The Agency emphasizes that licence exemptions are not meant to be routinely requested.
[6] In this case, the Agency previously granted an exemption on October 22, 2012. One of the arguments presented by the applicant was that it would file its application within a few days. No such application has been received to date.
[7] The Agency has considered this matter and concludes that the applicant had sufficient time to file the non-scheduled international licence application. Further, the Agency received this application on November 9, 2012 for a flight scheduled for November 13, 2012. This is not a reasonable period of time for the Agency to process the exemption application.
[8] In light of the foregoing, the Agency denies the application.
[9] This Decision takes effect on November 9, 2012, the date on which it was verbally communicated to Air Alsie A/S.
Member(s)
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