What Is a U.S.-Flag Air Carrier Under the Fly America Act?

Under the Fly America Act, a U.S. flag air carrier is an airline that meets the statutory definition of a U.S. citizen and holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the Secretary of Transportation under 49 U.S.C. § 41102.¹ If your trip is paid for with federal funds, whether you are an employee, a contractor, or a grant recipient, you generally have to fly on one of those airlines, no matter how much cheaper or more convenient a foreign carrier might be.²

The Federal Travel Regulation phrases the same standard from the service side: U.S. flag air carrier service is service on a certificate-holding carrier, authorized either by that certificate or by an exemption from the Secretary of Transportation.³ A foreign airline flying the same route with landing rights in the United States does not hold that certificate and does not qualify, even when its logo is familiar and its schedule is better.

The Department of Transportation publishes an official list of certificated air carriers, maintained by the Air Carrier Fitness Division within DOT’s Office of Aviation Analysis, that you can use to verify a specific airline.⁴

Citizenship Rules Behind the Certificate

The “citizen of the United States” half of the definition is not a formality. Under 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(15), a corporate airline qualifies as a U.S. citizen only if it is organized under U.S., state, D.C., or territorial law; its president and at least two-thirds of its board of directors and other managing officers are U.S. citizens; at least 75 percent of its voting interest is owned or controlled by U.S. citizens; and it is under the actual control of U.S. citizens.⁵

DOT monitors those thresholds. If an airline slips below the 75 percent voting-interest floor or loses its U.S.-citizen leadership majority, it can lose the certificate that made it eligible for federally funded travel in the first place.

Codeshares: Read the Designator Code, Not the Livery

A flight physically operated by a foreign airline can still count as U.S. flag service through a codeshare arrangement. Under 41 CFR § 301-10.133, service under a codeshare with a foreign carrier qualifies when the ticket identifies the U.S. flag air carrier’s designator code and flight number.³

What matters is the two-letter code next to the flight number on your ticket. A ticket showing “UA” or “DL” is compliant even if the aircraft belongs to Lufthansa or Virgin Atlantic. If the same physical flight is ticketed under the foreign carrier’s code, it is non-compliant. Online booking tools sometimes default to displaying the operating carrier rather than the marketing carrier, so check the code carefully before you confirm.

Open Skies Agreements That Let You Book Foreign Carriers

The Fly America Act allows agencies to use foreign carriers under bilateral or multilateral air transportation agreements that are consistent with U.S. international aviation policy and provide an exchange of rights of similar magnitude.² The United States currently has qualifying Open Skies agreements with the European Union (its member countries plus Iceland and Norway), Australia, Switzerland, and Japan.⁶

Under those agreements, federally funded travelers may use airlines from those countries on routes between the United States and a point in the agreement country, or between two points outside the United States, without needing a codeshare.

There is a wrinkle for federal employees. The GSA City Pair Program negotiates discounted fares with U.S. flag carriers on frequently traveled routes, and where a city-pair contract exists, employees are generally expected to use the contracted carrier; the Open Skies options come into play when no contract covers the route. Federal contractors and grant recipients get more flexibility: under the amendment to the U.S.-EU Open Skies Agreement, they do not need to worry about city-pair contract fares and may use a qualifying EU airline even when a contract exists on that route.⁷

The United Kingdom Is Not on the List

Since January 1, 2021, the United Kingdom has not been covered by the EU Open Skies Agreement, and no separate qualifying U.S.-U.K. agreement exists for Fly America Act purposes. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and other U.K. carriers are not eligible for direct U.S.-to-U.K. travel on federal funds unless a different exception applies, such as a qualifying codeshare or no U.S. carrier serving the route.⁶ If the routing stops in an EU member state before continuing, the EU agreement can still apply to that segment.

When You Can Use a Foreign Carrier Anyway

The Federal Travel Regulation lists specific circumstances that let you book a foreign carrier when no Open Skies agreement covers the trip. These exceptions have to be approved by the agency head or a designated official before you travel, not after the fact.⁸

Route and Time Exceptions

No U.S. flag carrier serves a particular leg of the route. You may use a foreign carrier only to or from the nearest interchange point where you can connect to U.S. flag service.
The foreign-carrier flight is three hours or less and using a U.S. carrier would at least double your travel time.
For travel entirely outside the United States, using a U.S. carrier would add two or more aircraft changes, extend travel time by six or more hours, or require a layover of four or more hours at an overseas connection point.

Necessity Exceptions

Under 41 CFR § 301-10.135, a foreign carrier may also be used as a matter of necessity, including medical reasons that reduce connections and delays for a traveler needing treatment; a case-by-case agency determination in writing that using a U.S. carrier would create an unreasonable safety risk; threats against U.S. carriers supported by a travel advisory from the FAA and State Department; and situations where no seat is available in your authorized class of service on a U.S. carrier but one is available on a foreign carrier.⁹

Two more situational exceptions exist: involuntary rerouting by a U.S. flag carrier onto a foreign carrier, and cases where a third party such as a foreign government reimburses the full cost of transportation.⁸

What Happens If You Get It Wrong

The Federal Travel Regulation states plainly that employees will not be reimbursed for transportation costs incurred through improper or unauthorized use of foreign air carrier service.³ The Government Accountability Office has held that a federal employee who violates the Fly America Act is personally liable for the cost of the flight, and that personal preference, convenience, or ignorance of the law will not relieve the traveler of that liability. Pointing out that someone else made the arrangements does not help either.¹⁰

Partial compliance is expected on mixed routes. If a U.S. flag carrier serves some legs of your itinerary, you must use it on those legs; the foreign carrier is permitted only on segments where no U.S. service exists. Booking an entire trip on a foreign carrier because one leg lacks U.S. service is a common and costly error.³

Booking and Documenting Your Trip

Federal employees are generally required to book through an authorized channel, such as a government-approved electronic travel system or a designated Travel Management Company. Those systems prioritize U.S. flag carriers and flag city-pair contract fares, which removes much of the guesswork.

Before confirming any booking, check two things: the airline designator code on the itinerary, to confirm it belongs to a U.S. flag carrier or a qualifying codeshare, and whether a GSA city-pair contract covers your route. If a contract exists and you are a federal employee, that contracted carrier is your default.

If you need a foreign carrier under an exception, document the justification before you travel. GSA expects the following to support any Fly America exception or waiver on audit:⁶

Your agency’s internal Fly America exception form, completed and signed before travel.
A full itinerary from a travel agent or online booking tool showing carriers and routing.
Screenshots or printouts of flight search results from the time of booking, showing all available flights and why the exception applies.

Attach these to your travel voucher when you seek reimbursement. The search results carry the most weight because they prove, at the time of booking, that no compliant alternative existed or that the time thresholds were met. Reconstructing that evidence after the trip is much harder, and auditors give it much less credit.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 41102 – General, Temporary, and Charter Air Transportation Certificates of Air Carriers
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 40118 – Government-Financed Air Transportation
3
eCFR. 41 CFR Part 301-10 – Transportation Expenses
4
U.S. Department of Transportation. Certificated Air Carriers List
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 40102 – Definitions
6
U.S. General Services Administration. Fly America Act
7
NIH Grants and Funding. 4.1.11 Fly America Act
8
eCFR. 41 CFR 301-10.134 – Fly America Act Requirements and Exceptions
9
eCFR. 41 CFR 301-10.135 – Fly America Exceptions for Foreign Air Carrier Service as a Necessity
10
U.S. Government Accountability Office. Employee in Violation of Fly America Act Is Personally Liable For Cost