The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies have a regulation based on federal policy 49 U.S.C. 40118, “Fly America Act”, which requires that all travel funded by United States Government utilize a U.S. domestic air carrier. This regulation is especially relevant for sponsored projects, which are directly or indirectly funded by federal agencies, where travel to and from foreign countries is necessary to conduct research on a grant or a contract. Such travel is deemed as “foreign travel”, which is defined as any travel outside of Canada and the United States and its territories and possessions.

The following is the federal regulation regarding this travel restriction in relation to grants/contracts as defined by NIH:

“Grantees must comply with the requirement that U.S. flag air carriers be used by domestic grantees to the maximum extent possible when commercial air transportation is the means of travel between the United States and a foreign country or between foreign countries. This requirement must not be influenced by factors of cost, convenience, or personal travel preference. The cost of travel under a ticket issued by a U.S. flag air carrier that leases space on a foreign air carrier under a code-sharing agreement is allowable if the purchase is in accordance with GSA regulations on U.S. flag air carriers and code shares.”

Thus, if any U.S. domestic air carrier is available to service to a specific destination, a foreign carrier cannot be utilized for air transportation. If, however, the US air carrier does not provide service to a particular location, then a foreign carrier is appropriate. There may be other limited exceptions for this policy by each federal agency, which can be found reviewing their reporting policy and procedures.

If travel is incurred which does not follow the federal restriction, the airfare will be disallowed and other funding with be required to cover the travel expenditure. If you have any questions regarding this regulation, please contact your SPA post-award officer for further clarification.

–Jerry MacDonald, SPA