Polar Air Cargo is awaiting permission from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to continue applying domestic and flag rules while conducting non-scheduled supplemental operations to airports not listed in its operations specifications.
A letter from the airline to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) late last year, published on the Regulations.gov website, details the application.
“In accordance with 14 CFR Part 11, Polar Air Cargo hereby petitions the Federal Aviation Administration
to grant an extension of Exemption No. 18486B (FAA Docket No. FAA- 2019-1027), currently scheduled
to expire on March 31, 2026, said the letter.
“The exemption provides relief from 14 CFR §119.49(a)(4)(ii) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14
CFR) to the extent necessary to allow Polar Air Cargo to apply domestic and flag rules while conducting
non-scheduled supplemental operations to airports not listed in its operations specifications (OpSpecs),
provided certain conditions and limitations as described in Exemption No. 18486B are met.”
According to the Regulations.gov website, there has not yet been a response to Polar’s letter, signed by Michael Giordano, director flight operations specifications & regulatory administration at Polar.
Domestic rules apply when a US airline operates within the US. Flag rules apply when a US airline operates international flights as a US ‘flag carrier’.
If an airline conducts non-scheduled supplemental operations, such as charter flights, to airports not listed in its operations specifications and does not follow domestic and flag rules there could be regulatory violations, safety and operational risks, insurance and liability Issues and legal and financial consequences.
This month marks one year since Atlas Air Worldwide and DHL announced they would end their Polar Air Cargo joint venture (JV).
In February last year, Atlas Air Worldwide and DHL announced they would end their Polar Air Cargo JV after 17 years of joint operations. The companies said they had decided that the JV was no longer a strategic business interest, according to an Atlas Air Worldwide spokesperson.
Atlas said in a statement at the time that it expected certain operations and positions to shift to Atlas and others to DHL, while Atlas would continue to hold the Polar certificate.
Atlas told Air Cargo News in January this year that plans to end the JV remained and Polar would continue providing airline operations in some locations for certain services.
Polar Air Cargo’s senior vice president and chief management officer Kersti Krepp also announced last month that she would leave the company after 24 years of service.
Data from Planespotters shows that Polar has five freighters in its operations. Three Boeing 747-8Fs are operating for Atlas Air and two 777Fs are operating for DHL Aviation.
Meanwhile, Flightradar24 data shows that there are current scheduled operations in North America.
