National Airlines (N8, Orlando Sanford) has objected to plans by Aerotranscargo (F5, Chisinau International) (ATC) for United States-bound flights, questioning whether the all-cargo carrier truly meets the requirements outlined in the US-Moldova bilateral air services agreement regarding substantive Moldovan ownership, control, and principal place of business.

The National Air Cargo Holdings subsidiary was responding to ATC's application to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) earlier this month for an exemption and a foreign air carrier permit to conduct charter flights of property and mail to the US to the full extent permitted under the two countries' bilateral air service agreement.

In a response to the filing, the US charter specialist has asked the DOT to deny ATC's application alleging the circumstances of its application do not justify the requested waiver of the department’s policy on ownership, control, and place of business.

It points out that ATC is part of a network of aviation companies controlled by Indian national Guneet Mirchandani based in Sharjah in the UAE, including ROMCargo (NJ, Bucharest Henri Coanda) and One Air (HC, London Heathrow), which already have US authority.

"While carriers designated by both India and the UAE enjoy open cargo seventh-freedom rights to and from the US, just like carriers properly designated by Moldova, the US government has raised bilateral aviation issues with both India and the UAE in the past. Whatever Mr Mirchandani’s motivations for standing up or purchasing all-cargo carriers in the UK, Romania, and now Moldova, each application must be judged on its own merits. This application fails the ownership, control, and principal place of business tests imposed by the US-Moldova agreement, and the record poses substantial questions as to whether a waiver of those tests could be inimical to US aviation policies or interests," argued National Airlines' lawyer John R Mietus.

He claims the ownership structure of ATC appears unclear, with Moldovan ownership potentially falling below the claimed 51% as Mirchandani, as the single largest shareholder at 49%, may have possible control over another 11% of the applicant’s shares listed under Global Sky, as the "effective beneficiaries" are Mirchandani and 25% shareholder Mihail Scemeliov.

As previously reported by ch-aviation, ATC has listed its shareholders as Guneet Mirchandani (49%), with 51% held by Moldovan nationals Mihail (25%) and Irina Scemeliov (10%), Mihail Eganov (5%), and Global Sky/Elena Bolocan (11%).

National Airlines asserts that ATC's management team lacks significant Moldovan representation. The application reveals that of the 15 executives, six reside in Moldovia and the rest in Sharjah. Their nationalities comprise four Indians (including chairman and MD Jai Shankar Singh), six Moldovans, three UK nationals and one US, one South African, and one Romanian.

According to National Airlines' submission, Mirchandani is sole owner of ATC. He also holds an 80% stake in Air One Aviation, which serves as ATC's exclusive global sales agent (GSA). In addition, he owns 49% of ATC SRL, the entity holding the cargo carrier's air operator's certificate (AOC) issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Moldova.

Mietus points out that ATC's website discloses that it operates five B747Fs under ATC's AOC and dry-leases three more to Rom Cargo and One Air. It also gives Sharjah as the sole contact address for ATC.

ch-aviation has approached ATC for comment.

According to its application, ATC's fleet comprises one B747-400(BCF), three B747-400(BDSF)s, and one B747-400FSCD. The carrier operates scheduled flights on predetermined routes under ACMI agreements. It says it is IOSA-registered, based in Moldova, and accredited as a Part-Third Country Operator (TCO) by the EASA and the UK Civil Aviation Authority and by several other countries' regulators.