Proposed Rules. Extension of comment period on proposed rule

Agency: Office of the Secretary (OST), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
Action: Extension of comment period on proposed rule
Citation: FR Doc. 05-21078 · RIN 2105-AC29 · Docket No. OST-2005-22298 · 14 CFR 382

Summary

The Department is extending through January 30, 2006, the period for interested persons to submit comments to its proposed rule on medical oxygen and portable respiration assistive devices.

Dates

Comments must be received by January 30, 2006. Comments received after this date will be considered to the extent practicable.

Supplementary Information

On September 7, 2005, the Department of Transportation (DOT or Department) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposed to require airlines to provide in-flight medical oxygen without charge, to test certain respiratory assistive devices and to permit their use if safe. See 70 FR 53108. The NPRM would apply to certain U.S. and foreign air carriers operating to and from the U.S. The original comment closing date is November 7, 2005. The Air Carrier Association of America (ACAA), the Air Transport Association (ATA), the National Air Carrier Association (NACA), and the Regional Airline Association (RAA) jointly requested an extension of the comment period to consider “the enormous technical, operational and cost issues raised by the multiple actions required by the NPRM.” They requested an extension of more than sixty days to January 30, 2006, at least partially because an extension of sixty days in this rulemaking would place the close of the comment period in the holiday season. This request was supported by comments from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which further explained that IATA has begun the process of gathering comments from its in-flight, dangerous goods, passenger services, operations, medical and regulatory contacts but that gathering and collating such feedback is a significant task that requires time. The Department concurs that an extension of the comment period is necessary to allow members of industry sufficient time to analyze the impact of the proposed rule and believes that this extension would result in more thorough comments to the docket than might otherwise be possible without delaying final action in the rulemaking proceeding. We do not anticipate the need for any further extensions. Accordingly, the Department finds that good cause exists to extend the comment period on the proposed rule from November 7, 2005, to January 30, 2006. Issued in Washington, DC this 17th day of October, 2005, under authority assigned to me by 14 CFR 385.17(c). Neil Eisner, Assistant General Counsel for Regulation and Enforcement, U.S. Department of Transportation. [FR Doc. 05-21078 Filed 10-20-05; 8:45 am]