249.20—Preservation of records by certificated air carriers.

Each certificated air carrier shall retain its records according to the provisions of this section. Unless otherwise specified in the “Schedule of Records,” each retention period shall begin on the date when the records are created or otherwise come into the possession of the carrier.

Schedule of Records

Category of records	Retention period
[See footnote at end of table]
1. General and subsidiary ledgers or their equivalents:
(a) General ledgers; subsidiary or auxiliary ledgers	3 years.
(b) Indexes to general and subsidiary ledgers	Do.
2. Journals and journal vouchers:
(a) General and subsidiary journals, and journal vouchers	3 years.
(b) Papers forming a part of, or necessary to explain, journal entries; entry numbers	Do.
3. Voucher distribution registers or their equivalent	Do.
4. Accounts receivables and payables:
(a) Traffic accounts receivable or payable, detailed journals and ledgers or their equivalents, together with supporting papers	Do.
(b) General accounts receivable or payable, detailed journals and ledgers or their equivalents, together with supporting papers	Do.
(c) Copies of invoices issued by the carrier which have been settled and all supporting papers	1 year.
(d) Copies of Postal Service Forms: Weekly Summary of Airmail Dispatch (No. 2729) and POD Airmail Exemption Record (No. 2734) supporting mail pay claims which have been settled	30 days.
5. Subsidy records:
(a) For each calendar year, all monthly records of operations, such as tabulations and summaries of miles flown and passenger-miles flown, pertaining to or part of operational records relevant to computation of subsidy mail pay	3 years.
(b) For each calendar year, all basic original documents, such as pilots' flight logs and passenger lists relevant to a determination of the validity of a carrier's operations described in item (a) above	Do.
6. The papers, records, or other evidence supporting financial and statistical reports to the BTS. These should include among others the following specific records: Internal administrative or operating reports; system reports of aircraft movements by trip number, showing arrivals, departures, flight delays and related information; bonds and other long-term debt records; stock records; corporate organization records; financial data in support of subsidy claims; minutes of meetings; carrier internal reports on internal controls and other internal audits and procedural studies; operational, management, accounting, financial, and legal service contracts and agreements; records and agreements relating to the lease or purchase and sale of company assets, including title papers, deeds, and similar records; insurance records; property and equipment records; tax records; accountants' and auditors' reports; records of receipts and disbursements including bank statements, check registers and cancelled checks; payroll registers of salaries and wages paid; cost accounting records for work orders; inventories of materials and supplies; and other source documents	Do.
7. Funds reports and estimates of funds	1 year.
8. Consumer complaints:
(a) Initial correspondence and record of action taken	3 years.
(b) Initial trip reports:
(1) Traffic Data: Basic documents showing the number of passengers, and pounds of mail and property carried	(1).
(c) Reservations reports and records:
(1) Cards and charts constituting original source of passengers' names, telephone numbers, etc	2 months.
(2) Telegrams and radio messages relating to the clearance of space, passenger dispatching, etc	1 month.
(d) System report of airplane movements by trip number showing arrivals, departures, delays and related information	3 years.
(e) Sales reports:
(1) Sales ticket or other similar reports from stations, offices and agents	2 years.
(f) Auditors' coupons	1 year.
(g) Air waybills	Do.
(h) Flight coupons	Do.
(i) Ticket refund claims records and reports	Do.
(j) Records and reports relating to errors, oversales, irregularities and delays in handling passengers	Do.
9. All documents which relate to the furnishing of transportation to candidates for political office or persons acting on their behalf which are required to be maintained following § 374a.7 of the subchapter	2 years.
10. Correspondence and working papers relating to rate and route proceedings	3 years.
Code of Federal Regulations 193
1 One year-mail-property; 2 years-passengers.

Code of Federal Regulations

[ER-1214, 46 FR 25415, May 6, 1981, as amended at 60 FR 66726, Dec. 26, 1995]

CFR

249.20—Preservation of records by certificated air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations