US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

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[Laws in effect as of January 7, 2003]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 7, 2003 and December 19, 2003]
[CITE: 49USC40103]

 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
                     SUBTITLE VII--AVIATION PROGRAMS
 
                     PART A--AIR COMMERCE AND SAFETY
 
                           subpart i--general
 
                     CHAPTER 401--GENERAL PROVISIONS
 
Sec. 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.

(Pub. L. 103-272, Sec. 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1101.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Revised  Section                    Source (U.S. Code)               Source (Statutes at Large)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40103(a)(1)...........................  49 App.:1508(a) (1st sentence).  Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85-726, Secs.
                                                                          307(a), (c), (d), 308(a) (3d
                                                                          sentence), 1108(a), 1201, 1202, 72
                                                                          Stat. 749, 750, 751, 798, 800.
40103(a)(2)...........................  49 App.:1304.                    Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85-726, Sec.
                                                                          104, 72 Stat. 740; Oct. 4, 1984, Pub.
                                                                          L. 98-443, Sec.  14, 98 Stat. 1711.
                                        49 App.:1551(b)(1)(E).           Aug. 28, 1958, Pub. L. 85-726, 72 Stat.
                                                                          731, Sec.  1601(b)(1)(E); added Oct.
                                                                          4, 1984, Pub. L. 98-443, Sec.  3(e),
                                                                          98 Stat. 1704.
40103(b)(1)...........................  49 App.:1348(a).
                                        49 App.:1655(c)(1).              Oct. 15, 1966, Pub. L. 89-670, Sec.
                                                                          6(c)(1), 80 Stat. 938; Jan. 12, 1983,
                                                                          Pub. L. 97-449, Sec.  7(b), 96 Stat.
                                                                          2444.
40103(b)(2)...........................  49 App.:1348(c).
                                        49 App.:1655(c)(1).
40103(b)(3)...........................  49 App.:1521.
                                        49 App.:1522.
                                        49 App.:1655(c)(1).
40103(b)(4)...........................  49 App.:1348(d).
40103(c)..............................  (no source).
40103(d)..............................  49 App.:1508(a) (last
                                         sentence).
40103(e)..............................  49 App.:1349(a) (3d sentence).
                                        49 App.:1349(a) (last            Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85-726, 72 Stat.
                                         sentence).                       731, Sec.  308(a) (last sentence);
                                                                          added Sept. 3, 1982, Pub. L. 97-248,
                                                                          Sec.  524(a)(1), 96 Stat. 695.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In subsection (a)(1), the word ``has'' is substituted for ``is 
declared to possess and exercise complete and'' to eliminate surplus 
words. The word ``national'' is omitted as surplus. The text of 49 
App.:1508(a) (1st sentence words after 1st comma) is omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (a)(2), the words ``of the United States'' are omitted 
for consistency in the revised title and because of the definition of 
``navigable airspace'' in section 40102(a) of the revised title. The 
words ``or amending'' are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (b), the word ``Administrator'' in section 307(a), 
(c), and (d) of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (Public Law 85-726, 72 
Stat. 749, 750) is retained on authority of 49:106(g).
    In subsection (b)(1) and (3)(B), the word ``rule'' is omitted as 
being synonymous with ``regulation''.
    In subsection (b)(1), the words ``under such terms, conditions, and 
limitations as he may deem'' are omitted as surplus. The words ``In the 
exercise of his authority under section 1348(a) of this Appendix'' in 49 
App.:1522 are omitted as unnecessary because of the restatement.
    In subsection (b)(2), before clause (A), the word ``shall'' is 
substituted for ``is further authorized and directed'' for consistency 
in the revised title and to eliminate unnecessary words.
    In subsection (b)(3), before clause (A), the words ``In the exercise 
of his authority under section 1348(a) of this Appendix'' in 49 
App.:1522 are omitted as surplus. The word ``navigable'' is added for 
clarity and consistency. In clause (A), the words ``such zones or'' are 
omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (b)(4), the words ``the military exception'' are 
substituted for ``any exception relating to military or naval 
functions'' to eliminate unnecessary words and because ``naval'' is 
included in ``military''. The words ``applies to a regulation prescribed 
under'' are substituted for ``In the exercise of the rulemaking 
authority . . . the Secretary of Transportation shall be subject to'' to 
eliminate unnecessary words and because ``rules'' and ``regulations'' 
are synonymous.
    Subsection (c) is added for clarity.
    In subsection (d), the words ``including the Canal Zone'' are 
omitted because of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977.
    In subsection (e), before clause (1), the words ``any landing area'' 
are omitted as being included in the definition of ``air navigation 
facility'' in section 40102(a) of the revised title. The word ``only'' 
is added for clarity. In clause (2), the words ``on September 3, 1982'' 
are added for clarity.


                               Regulations

    Pub. L. 85-726, title VI, Sec. 613(a), (b), as added by Pub. L.101-
508, title IX, Sec. 9124, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388-370, provided 
that:
    ``(a) National Disaster Areas.--Before the 180th day following the 
date of the enactment of this section [Nov. 5, 1990], the Administrator, 
for safety and humanitarian reasons, shall issue such regulations as may 
be necessary to prohibit or otherwise restrict aircraft overflights of 
any inhabited area which has been declared a national disaster area in 
the State of Hawaii.
    ``(b) Exceptions.--Regulations issued pursuant to subsection (a) 
shall not be applicable in the case of aircraft overflights involving an 
emergency or a ligitimate [sic] scientific purpose.''


                       National Airspace Redesign

    Pub. L. 106-181, title VII, Sec. 736, Apr. 5, 2000, 114 Stat. 171, 
provided that:
    ``(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
        ``(1) The national airspace, comprising more than 29 million 
    square miles, handles more than 55,000 flights per day.
        ``(2) Almost 2,000,000 passengers per day traverse the United 
    States through 20 major en route centers, including more than 700 
    different sectors.
        ``(3) Redesign and review of the national airspace may produce 
    benefits for the travelling public by increasing the efficiency and 
    capacity of the air traffic control system and reducing delays.
        ``(4) Redesign of the national airspace should be a high 
    priority for the Federal Aviation Administration and the air 
    transportation industry.
    ``(b) Redesign.--The Administrator [of the Federal Aviation 
Administration], with advice from the aviation industry and other 
interested parties, shall conduct a comprehensive redesign of the 
national airspace system.
    ``(c) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2000, the Administrator 
shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives a report on the Administrator's 
comprehensive national airspace redesign. The report shall include 
projected milestones for completion of the redesign and shall also 
include a date for completion.
    ``(d) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Administrator to carry out this section $12,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2000, 2001, and 2002.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 106, 40106, 40109, 44101, 
44502, 46301, 46307, 46316 of this title.