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The National Park Service (NPS) is in the process of finalizing Air Tour Management Plans (ATMPs) for national parks where air tours operate throughout the U.S.
The ATMPs are a requirement of the National Parks Air Tour Management Act (NPATMA) of 2000, applying to air tours within half-mile outside the boundary of a national park. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HVNP) is among two dozen national parks, including Maui’s Haleakala National Park, that are reviewing air-tour operations. This includes reporting requirements, above ground level (AGL) altitude ranges, and flight routes and deviations.
Like ground-based tours, air tours are a valid part of our visitor experience, providing a unique window from which we can share our cultural, historical and environmental sites with the world. Air tours require no ground-based infrastructure at the park, create no congestion on roads, and allow visitors accessibility, including the handicapped and elderly.
By further restricting an already limited number of allowable air tours, we are reducing opportunities to access our parks in a way that leaves little to no environmental footprint or disturbance. Through carbon-offset efforts and strict altitude requirements to control noise, air-tour operators are working to ensure we are responsible stewards of our home. There are currently no restrictions on loud vehicles operating in the park, some of which make more noise than a passing helicopter.
Moreover, the proposals currently under consideration will force aircraft into potentially unsafe flight conditions. The NPS has proposed increasing the minimum flight altitude over Hawaii Volcanoes National Park from an allowed minimum 500 feet AGL to 1,500 feet AGL, which does not provide adequate safe options for navigation in typical weather patterns that exist in the park. In addition, higher- flying aircraft spread their sound signature farther. One proposal even suggests no flights below 5,000 feet AGL.
Even more concerning is that the proposals have fixed narrow flight routes that do not take into account the area’s constantly changing weather patterns.
There are 10 helicopter companies and four fixed-wing air-tour operators that are granted an interim operating authority (IOA) allowing flights over HVNP. An IOA is issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, and the number of air tours over the park has not changed for more than two decades. In total, these companies are collectively allowed to fly up to 28,441 air tours (22,758 helicopter and 5,683 fixed-wing) each year under certificates allocated to each company.
As companies go out of business and no new IOAs are issued, the number of allowable flights is already being reduced. The National Park Service collects hundreds of thousands of dollars in fee revenue each year from air-tour flights. Air tours require no infrastructure, leaving the bulk of overflight fees to go toward supporting services that benefit the public.
It is likely that air tours would have to reroute over other areas on the island of Hawaii or go out of business if further restrictions are put in place. Hundreds of families and partner businesses would be affected, as well as the operations that air-tour companies directly support, including critical utility and rescue operations, as well as community support.
A public comment period on the HVNP ATMP closes April 1. We strongly encourage your participation in support of Hawaii’s air-tour industry and against unfair, unsafe and over-restrictive policies that will severely damage opportunities and access to these public areas.
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To comment on the proposed rules: See parkplanning.nps.gov, then Hawaii Volcanoes Air Tour Management Plan, then Open For Comment.
Calvin Dorn is CEO of Paradise Helicopters, a locally owned helicopter tour provider in Hawaii.
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