The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has tentatively granted Constanta Airlines (UZA, Zaporizhzhia) a foreign air carrier permit (FACP) and an exemption until the order becomes effective, despite objections from the carrier's minority shareholder AP Holdings.
The Ukrainian carrier applied for the FACP in February 2020, indicating that it planned to launch chartered cargo flights between Mexico, the United States, and Canada using its An-26 freighters. However, AP Holdings, a UAE-based entity that owns a 49% stake in the airline, subsequently objected alleging that Constanta Airlines had breached contracts covering the lease of three An-26s from AP Holdings.
"With regard to the objection of AP Holdings, we conclude that those concerns, when viewed in the context of the totality of the record, provide no persuasive basis to withhold the requested authority. This private dispute is of a nature that we regard as properly resolved in other fora," the DOT said.
AP Holdings is ultimately owned by Justin Ryan Southerland, a US citizen, and Andrew Douglas Little, a Canadian citizen, who each control 50% of the shares. The DOT said that "to the extent, a question may exist as to the applicant’s ownership and control", it warranted a waiver since there was nothing "inimical to U.S. aviation policy or interests" in that structure.
According to the Ukrainian aircraft register, Constanta Airlines operates three An-26s, three An-26-100s, two An-26Bs, three An-26B-100s, and a single An-28. However, according to its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), which it appended to its DOT docket in February 2021, it operates just two An-26B-100s (one leased from AP Holdings) and three An-26-100s.
