US DOT responds to requests for CARES exemptions 27APR

Following a swathe of requests from US carriers for exemptions from minimum service obligations imposed by the CARES Act, following a period of review, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued the following decisions:

Allegiant Air (G4, Las Vegas Harry Reid) has been exempted from serving Bellingham and McAllen through June 30, and Dayton James M. Cox, Grand Forks, Moline, Ogdensburg, Raleigh/Durham, Rochester, NY, St. Cloud, and Tucson International through September 30. The DOT has denied exemptions covering another ten points. The DOT has said in its response that it recognised Allegiant's "business model, including the uniquely large variance in operations from one month to the next... with a great deal of variability from week to week and month to month. This variability has the potential to create a disparate impact on the carrier vis-à-vis its service obligation".
Cape Air (9K, Hyannis) has been exempted from serving New York JFK through September 30 as the airport and the city of New York are well served by other, larger airlines. The DOT has judged the request to be "well justified and narrowly tailored". However, the DOT has denied the airline's request to suspend services to White Plains. While the airline is in the process of applying for a change to its Essential Air Service agreement covering the city - wherein it would move flights from Lebanon, NH to Boston - the DOT has yet to approve the change. As such, Cape Air's flights to White Plains remain compulsory under the existing EAS agreement, which takes precedence over CARES Act.
Frontier Airlines (F9, Denver International) has been allowed to suspend services to the Boston metro (Boston and Providence), Charlotte International, and Detroit Metropolitan through June 10. However, the DOT has denied the remainder of the carrier's exemption requests covering a grand total of 30 more points.
Seaborne Airlines (BB, San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin) has been exempted from serving Vieques through June 30 (the route is operated by Vieques Air Link (V4, Vieques)) and Culebra through September 30 due to the total suspension of tourism in Puerto Rico. However, the DOT has not granted an exemption to parent airline Silver Airways (3M, Fort Lauderdale International) covering Huntsville International.
Sun Country Airlines (SY, Minneapolis St. Paul International) has received exemptions covering all points it requested, becoming the first carrier to do so. The exemptions cover the launch of flights to 15 large hubs delayed through June 21 (Boston Metro via Boston and Providence, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver International, Honolulu, Los Angeles International, Nashville International, New York Newark, Philadelphia International, Portland International, San Diego International, San Francisco, Seattle Tacoma International, St. Louis Lambert International, and Baltimore International), the launch of six seasonal services delayed through June 21 (Anchorage Ted Stevens, Sacramento International, San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin, Austin-Bergstrom International, San Antonio International, and Madison, WI), and the reduction of frequency obligations covering Las Vegas Harry Reid, Phoenix Sky Harbor, and Orlando International.
United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) has been granted a permit to launch its seasonal flights to Fairbanks International as planned on July 6. The DOT has also exempted the airline from serving Aguadilla through July 6 due to the airport closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Saipan through May 2 due to the governor's advise against all travel, and Iloilo, Kona, Lihue, and Kahului through September 30 due to travel restrictions in Hawaii. The DOT has deferred decision regarding St. Thomas Cyril E. King and has denied exemptions covering Anchorage Ted Stevens, Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach International, Nantucket, San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin, Key West International, Santa Rosa, CA, Sun Valley, Green Bay, Gunnison, Ithaca, Kalamazoo, Santa Fé, and Destin-Fort Walton Beach.

Decisions issued prior to April 21, 2020, have been listed here.

A definitive list of exemption requests can be found here.

Under the CARES Act, airlines have to retain a minimum level of service to all points they served either during the week of February 29, 2020, or the week of August 4, 2019 (in case of seasonal services), to be eligible for federal support.