Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Fair Aviation in Restrictions and Emergencies Act” or the “FARE Act”.
Fair Aviation in Restrictions and Emergencies Act
A BILL
To prohibit the restriction of commercial flights before the restriction of private flights during a lapse in appropriations.
Sec. 2 Definitions
In this Act:
Commercial flight— The term “commercial flight” means a flight that is operated as a regularly scheduled flight by a passenger common carrier subject to Part 121 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.
Private aircraft flight— The term “private aircraft flight” means a flight that is made using an aircraft equipped with 1 or more jet engines and that is not operated as a regularly scheduled flight by a passenger common carrier subject to Part 121 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.
Sec. 3 Prohibition on restriction of commercial flight operations during a lapse in appropriations
In general— The Federal Aviation Administration may not reduce or temporarily prohibit a commercial flight in the navigable airspace of the National Airspace System due to a lapse of appropriations, unless it has prohibited all private aircraft flights within the same geographical area for the same period of time.
Exceptions— The limitation in subsection (a) shall not apply to a private aircraft flight that is exclusively flown for—
a public safety purpose;
government business;
a military or diplomatic purpose;
a medical reason;
an agricultural purpose;
a meteorological or scientific purpose;
the provision of humanitarian, nutritional, or emergency relief, including in response to a natural disaster; or
the purpose of carrying cargo.
In general— The Federal Aviation Administration may enforce this section through an enforcement action seeking a civil penalty under section 46301(a) of title 49, United States Code, or through a civil action in United States District Court seeking to enjoin any air carrier from violating this section.