Editorial: Limits on air tours

There is an intrinsic reason why visitors to national parks trek into these natural treasures — and that’s to soak in the nonbuilt environment the way it was meant to be experienced. The National Park Service’s great outdoors are valued for their scenic splendor, geological wonders and natural sounds.

So it is gratifying that at long last, limits will be put on the number of air tours over 23 national parks, including the two in Hawaii: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HVNP) and Haleakala National Park. Through June 16, the public can weigh in on court-ordered curbs to air tour operations that aim to significantly reduce noise levels, via a mix of route and altitude limitations and no-fly days.

At HVNP, air tours would decrease a whopping 86%, with authorization for a maximum of 1,665 air tours yearly on three defined routes; Sundays would become no-fly days and Wednesdays would be only for quiet-technology flights from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with curbs on other days. All that is a far cry from the annual 11,376 flights quantified at HVNP between 2017 and 2019, as reported by 10 tour operators in a 2019 National Park Service (NPS) study. The report also indicated that of all the national parks, Hawaii Volcanoes is the most affected by tour helicopter flights.

At Haleakala, the plan would cap air tours to 2,412 yearly — a 50% reduction — using just one defined route, with no tours allowed on Sundays and Wednesdays. It also would require a complete transition to quiet technology by 2033.

The growing disturbance from proliferation of air tours over many years came to a head in 2020. That’s when a D.C. federal court of appeals sided with plaintiffs — Hawaii Island Coalition Malama Pono and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility — that the Federal Aviation Administration and NPS had failed over nearly 20 years to carry out congressional mandates to deal with noise generated by commercial air tours.

The intrusive noise levels are summed up in the proposed air-tour restrictions for Hawaii Volcanoes: The park’s very low natural sound environment, “coupled with the high number of annual air tours flying at low altitudes, make helicopter noise intrusions very noticeable and difficult to mitigate at current levels, which result in unacceptable impacts to park natural and cultural resources, including Native Hawaiian traditional practices and sacred sites, wilderness character, and visitor enjoyment.”

Less quantity of manmade helicopter noise will equal more quality of visitor experience at Haleakala National Park and especially, at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

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To comment: For the Hawaii Volcanoes plan, see 808ne.ws/HVNPnoise; for the Haleakala proposal, see 808ne.ws/Haleakalanoise.