DOT 32-03
Thursday, April 17, 2003
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-5571
DOT To Hold Hearing on DHL Citizenship
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today said it would conduct a public
hearing, as required by statute, to determine whether DHL Airways is a U.S.
citizen under law applying to U.S. air carriers.
A DOT administrative law judge will conduct the hearing and
issue a recommended decision on whether DHL is a U.S. citizen under the law, a
qualification necessary to operate as a U.S. airline. DOT directed the judge to submit the recommended decision to
the department by Sept. 2. The
department will review the recommended decision before issuing a final decision.
In late 2000, DHL Airways reported to the department its
plans to undergo a reorganization and substantial change in ownership under
which it would split into two separate companies: an air carrier, DHL Airways, and a foreign air freight
forwarder, DHL Holdings. Subsequently,
Federal Express Corporation, United Parcel Service and Lynden Air Cargo asked
the department to review DHL’s citizenship.
At the time DOT was examining these petitions and DHL’s
responses, DOT Inspector General Kenneth M. Mead sent a March 4 letter to Rep.
Don Young, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee,
regarding procedures to determine the citizenship of DHL.
The department asked for and received public comment on the letter.
Subsequently, Congress enacted supplemental appropriations legislation,
which was signed by President Bush on April 16, directing the department to hold
a formal proceeding on DHL’s citizenship with the assistance of an
administrative law judge.
For a carrier to qualify as a U.S. citizen, it must be
incorporated in the United States, its president and two-thirds of its board of
directors must be U.S. citizens, and at least 75 percent of its voting stock
must be owned by U.S. citizens. In
addition, the department must find that the carrier is effectively controlled by
U.S. citizens.
The department’s notice and other documents in this case may be obtained via the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov, docket number OST-2002-13089.
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