Community airlines shall have the right to transport passengers and cargo on scheduled and charter flights for which a US Government civilian department, agency, or instrumentality (1) obtains the transportation for itself or in carrying out an arrangement under which payment is made by the Government or payment is made from amounts provided for the use of the Government, or (2) provides the transportation to or for a foreign country or international or other organisation without reimbursement, and that transportation is (a) between any point in the United States and any poin ...[+++]t in a Member State, except — with respect to passengers only — between points for which there is a city-pair contract fare in effect, or (b) between any two points outside the United States.

See Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 of the Council on access of Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes, Council Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92 applying the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime transport within Member States, Council Regulation (EEC) No 1191/69 on action by Member States concerning the obligations inherent in the concept of a public service in transport by rail, road and inland waterway, as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1893/91, and the amended proposal ...[+++]for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on action by Member States concerning public service requirements and the award of public service contracts in passenger transport by rail, road and inland waterway (COM(2002) 107 final).

(e) ‘operator’ means an undertaking that provides public passenger transport services and that is established under public or private law; or a part, which provides public passenger transport services, of a public administration;

The competent authorities may impose local public passenger transport services on a transport company if this is essential to safeguard the adequate quality and quantity of a transport service, or to offer special tariffs for certain groups of passengers. This may in particular be the case if the tendering procedure does not produce a result, because within the period specified in the procedure no tenders are received or no tender ...[+++]meets the specified requirements, or if the selected operator cannot provide the service, or does not provide it in accordance with the agreements, as a result of insolvency or termination of contract by the contracting authority.

It lays down the conditions under which competent authorities may compensate transport operators for the cost of fulfilling public service requirements and under which they may grant exclusive rights for the operation of public passenger transport, due regard being had to the pursuit of legitimate public service objectives within a framework of regulated competition.

1. The application of this Regulation should encourage competent authorities to make provision for adequate consumer-oriented public passenger transport services that are of high quality and reasonably priced, providing integration, continuity, safety and full coverage, by concluding public service contracts in accordance with Chapter III or by laying down minimum criteria for public passenger transport operation in accordance with Chapter IV and by concluding service-level agreements with operators.