Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 108 Part 2.djvu/385

 PUBLIC LAW 103-272—JULY 5, 1994 108 STAT. 1101 (B) as the representative of the State before the Secretary of Transportation in any matter about which the Secretary is required to consult with or consider the views of a State authority under subpart II of this part. (40) "ticket agent" means a person (except an air carrier, a foreign air carrier, or an employee of an air carrier or foreign air carrier) that as a principal or agent sells, offers for sale, negotiates for, or holds itself out as selling, providing, or arranging for, air transportation. (41) "United States" means the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the territories and possessions of the United States, including the territorial sea and the overlying airspace. (b) LIMITED DEFINITION.—In subpart II of this part, "control" means control by any means. § 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 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. 79-194 O—95—13: QL 3 Part 2

�