(a) An application under this subpart may include a request, in addition to other foreign air transportation, for authority to engage in interstate air transportation between Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Honolulu, Hawaii, and interstate air transportation within the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. A request for all or part of such limited interstate air transportation authority shall be supported by documentation establishing:

(1) The impact of such interstate air transportation services on the economic projections of the carrier's proposed operations;

(2) The need for such proposed interstate air transportation by the affected U.S. points;

(3) The economic impact of such interstate air transportation on services provided by other carriers providing essential air transportation services to eligible Freely Associated State points within the scope of part 272 of this chapter.

(b) The Department may grant a Freely Associated State Air Carrier authority to engage in all or part of the interstate air transportation requested in paragraph (a) of this section provided that the Department finds:

(1) That grant of such interstate air transportation authority would be in furtherance of the objectives of the Compact of Free Association and related agreements between the United States and the Freely Associated States, and would otherwise be in the public interest; and

(2) That grant of such interstate air transportation authority would not significantly impair the economic viability of existing services providing essential air transportation to any eligible Freely Associated State point within the scope of part 272 of this chapter, or significantly increase compensation that may be required to maintain any such essential air transportation.

(c) The Department may, at any time, subject to Presidential review under section 41307, suspend, modify, or revoke such interstate authority if it concludes that the requirements specified in paragraph (b) of this section are not then being met.

[Amdt. 211-18, 52 FR 5442, Feb. 22, 1987]