Fly America Act Explained

International Air Transportation Fair Competitive Practices Act
Fullname:An act to amend the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to deal with discriminatory and unfair competitive practices in international air transportation, and for other purposes.
Enacted By:93rd
Acts Amended:Federal Aviation Act of 1958
Title Amended:49 U.S.C.: Transportation
Leghisturl:https://www.congress.gov/bill/93rd-congress/senate-bill/3481/actions
Introducedin:Senate
Introducedby:Howard Cannon (D-NV)
Introduceddate:May 13, 1974
Passedbody1:Senate
Passeddate1:October 10, 1974
Passedvote1:72-2
Passedbody2:House
Passeddate2:December 17, 1974
Passedvote2:221-54, in lieu of passed December 13, 1974
Signedpresident:Gerald Ford
Signeddate:January 3, 1975

The Fly America Act refers to the provisions enacted by .

The Fly America Act is applicable to all travel funded by United States federal government funds and requires the use of "U.S. flag" airlines (not to be confused with flag carriers) with a few exceptions. These individuals include U.S. federal government employees, their dependents, consultants, contractors, grantees, and others.

The Fly America Act is incorporated into the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) at Subpart 47.4—Air Transportation by U.S.‑Flag Carriers and is, therefore, applicable to all U.S. government contracts issued to U.S. and non‑U.S. companies, except for commercial item contractors, which are exempt from the act under Part 12.503 of the FAR.

The Fly America Act does not prohibit travel funded by civilian government agencies on carriers associated with nations that have a qualifying "bilateral or multilateral agreement" with the United States; however, travelers must complete a declaration that such an agreement exists. Although the United States has entered into more than 100 Open Skies agreements, only a few of them are considered qualifying "bilateral or multilateral agreement[s]"; they are the agreements with the European Union (including non‑EU members Norway and Iceland), Australia, Saudi Arabia,[1] Switzerland, and Japan.[2] A full list of Open Skies partners is available from the U.S. State Department.[3]

British owned airlines are no longer part of the Fly America program after the United Kingdom left the European Union.[4]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: U.S.-Saudi Arabia Air Transport Agreement.
  2. http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/103191 GSA List of Open Skies Agreements relevant to the Fly America Act
  3. https://2009-2017.state.gov/e/eb/tra/ata/index.htm U.S. State Department List of Open Skies Agreements
  4. https://www.ft.com/content/2b4730d8-f266-11e8-ae55-df4bf40f9d0d News: Financial Times Brexit Britain close to agreeing open skies deal with US