Delay expected for national park air tour plans in Hawaii

Proposals to cap tour flights over Hawai‘i Volcanoes and Haleakala national parks — or ban them altogether — are among the options being considered as two federal agencies work to draft mandated air tour management plans that are more than 20 years overdue.

Other options contained in scoping newsletters for each park released in February by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Park Service include no-fly days and set flight routes and times for air tours. The agencies set an April 1 deadline for public comment on the proposals and are under a court-ordered August deadline to finalize the ATMPs.

However, a progress report filed with the court Feb. 28 by federal attorneys says that while making every effort to meet the deadline, the agencies anticipate the process will extend at least a year to August 2023 or beyond due to “complex” factors.

These include the magnitude of air tour activity at the two Hawaii parks, the agencies’ decision to conduct environmental assessments, and the large number of stakeholders to be consulted, including Native Hawaiian organizations and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Bob Ernst of the Hawaii Island Coalition Malama Pono, which successfully sued the FAA and NPS in 2017 for failing to comply with the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000, said his group won’t hesitate to file another lawsuit if the deadline is not met.

“For 22 years both agencies, the FAA and National Park Service, have failed terribly in providing these ATMPs for these two parks, so we’re totally disappointed,” Ernst said. “We’ve already been to court once, and we’re looking to go again to get those two agencies to do what they should have done 22 years ago.”

The 2000 statute requires the agencies to develop ATMPs for parks where more than 50 commercial air tours are conducted annually. The Hawaii coalition joined the Washington, D.C.-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility in filing the lawsuit, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C., in May 2020 ordered the FAA and NPS to produce a schedule for bringing 23 national parks, including the two in Hawaii, into compliance. The court approved the schedule in November 2020.

The February scoping newsletters for Hawai‘i Vol­canoes and Haleakala acknowledge long-standing complaints by community members, visitors and park staff that aircraft noise disturbs the peace and tranquility of the parks’ natural and cultural landscapes, have an adverse affect on native birds and resource protection activities, and interfere with Native Hawaiian cultural practices and the visitor experience.

“Any alternatives that would allow air tours at or above existing numbers were dismissed as being inconsistent with the parks’ purpose and values,” the documents said.

According to NPS data, Hawai‘i Volcanoes ranked No. 1 among national parks in reported air tours in 2019, with 9,276 flights, and Haleakala was No. 5, with 4,875. Both figures fall well below the number of air tours allowed under an interim operating authority: 26,664 for the Hawaii island park and 25,827 for the Maui park.

In describing the various management proposals for both parks, the scoping newsletters used annual tour numbers based on the three-year average from 2017 to 2019 — before the COVID-19 pandemic stifled tourism in Hawaii — of 11,376 fixed-wing and helicopter air tours over Hawai‘i Volcanoes and 4,824 helicopter tours over the Maui park.

Blue Hawaiian is by far the predominant air tour operator at both locations, averaging 8,561 flights annually at Hawai‘i Volcanoes and 2,448 at Haleakala, the newsletters said.

Company President Quentin Koch said in a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that Blue Hawaiian understands that some limits on park overflights are needed “to support the environment and safety,” adding that air tours provide views of the expansive parks that would otherwise be inaccessible.

“Congress mandated a plan to manage the parks, not to eliminate access to it,” Koch said. “We support the need for a plan and trust the skies of the parks around the U.S. will remain open for future generations to see the wonders of the national parks.”

Both the Haleakala and Hawai‘i Volcanoes plans include as “Alternative 2” a prohibition on air tours within the ATMP areas, which extend 5,000 feet above ground level and a half-mile outside park boundaries.

“Alternative 3” for Hawai‘i Volcanoes provides an air tour window of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., which would be extended to 4 p.m. for aircraft using “quiet technology.” No air tours would be allowed Sundays, and Wednesdays would be reserved for “quiet” flights only.

Two main routes — a coastal route and northern route along Highway 11 for viewing Kilauea and Halemaumau Crater — would be established, along with a fly zone over the Puu Oo viewing area and an “adaptive management route” over the volcano’s historically active Southwest Rift Zone during eruptions only.

Under “Alternative 4” the flight window would be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an earlier 8 a.m. start for quiet flights and no tours on Sundays.

The option offers three routes over the park — a Kahuku route that provides access for Kailua-Kona flights and circle-island tours, a coastal route and a Puu Oo route with entry and exit over the ocean — that would keep “the heart of the park free of air tours,” the newsletter said.

Alternative 3 for Haleakala provides a single flight path with entry over the park from the west near the state Kahi­kinui Forest Reserve and exit near the Kipahulu area of East Maui. Air tours would be allowed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with hours extended to 4 p.m. for quiet aircraft.

Additionally, Wednesdays and Sundays would be designated as no-fly days, along with six other days in the year tied to the Hawaiian moon calendar and Makahiki season.

Under Alternatives 3 for both parks and 4 for Hawai‘i Volcanoes, air tours would be capped at a number to be determined, and that number would fall somewhere below the three-year average for each park. The options also would set minimum altitudes of 1,500 feet above ground and 2,000 feet over wilderness areas and sensitive sites.

Provisions also are provided for a “standoff distance” of several miles for when Native Hawaiian ceremonies, natural and cultural resource programs or other special events are being held.

And, if the final Hawaii ATMPs limit the number of flights operating during a specific time frame, tour operators would be subject to a competitive bidding process. In the interim, flights would be proportionately allocated based on the three-year average.

Companies currently pay $25 for each tour by aircraft with 25 or fewer passengers.

“Alternative 1” in both plans proposes no action, which would violate the 2000 federal statute.

Koch called using the three-year average to determine allotments a “fair approach” and said banning air tours altogether could have unintended consequences. He emphasized that air tours provide vistas of remote park areas and allow those who are unable to trek the trails to enjoy the scenery.

“Much of the beauty of our national parks may only be experienced from the sky. For people who are not physically able to hike 20 miles into a crater or in lava fields, air tours are the only way to experience the parks,” Koch said in his statement. “Closing these national treasures to legitimate visitors could unintentionally increase air traffic over residential areas. Blue Hawaiian is committed to the safe operations of tours and to minimize noise.”

Blue Hawaiian, which operates 21 aircraft statewide, has been an industry leader in quiet-technology aircraft, including introducing the Eco-Star EC130 helicopter.

“All Blue Hawaiian aircraft incorporate the latest in cutting-edge technologies, materials, systems, safety features and avionics,” Koch said. “Eco-Star is the quietest helicopter in Hawaii with a shrouded tail rotor and automatic variable rotor speed control contributing to the significantly reduced external sound level.”

Ernst, a Mountain View resident who described air tours as “a daily nuisance,” said the Hawaii Island Coalition Malama Pono will not be satisfied with anything less than Alternative 2, a ban on tour flights over the parks.

Even if restricted to fly only outside park boundaries, he said, air tour companies still would be able to advertise flights offering stunning coastal views “with Haleakala and Hawai‘i Volcanoes as the background along with Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.”

“These two parks are the ones that need the protection of the ATMPs more than any other national parks in the nation, so we are strongly advocating for the no-fly option,” Ernst said. “Why would anybody except the tour copter operators look at any of the other options that continue to allow the noise and visual impacts in our precious, cherished national parks?”

The Haleakala and Hawai‘i Volcanoes scoping reports said once the agencies determine which alternatives to advance and environmental assessments are done, there will be further public review and comment later this year.

SUBMIT COMMENTS

Comments on proposals for air tour management plans for Hawai‘i Volcanoes and Haleakala national parks will be accepted until 8 p.m. April 1. Comments may be submitted via the National Park Service’s Planning, Environment & Public Comment website or by postal mail only; no emails will be accepted.

>> NPS website: parkplanning.nps.gov

>> Mailing address: Volpe National Transportation Systems Center Kaitlyn Rimol, V-326 55 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142; Attn: Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park ATMP or Attn: Haleakala National Park ATMP