CAA: GA News, "Air-tour operators say they'll fight flight restrictions in court"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@cwnet.com>]

Friday, May 12, 2000

Air-tour operators say they’ll fight flight restrictions in court
GA News


A group of air-tour operators who are opposed to newly adopted flight
restrictions over Grand Canyon National Park say they will go to court to
have the restrictions lifted.

As reportedly previously, the restrictions were announced April 4 as part of
a noise-abatement program that has been instituted by the National Park
Service and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The regulations are pursuant to the Overflights Act of 1987, a piece of
legislation that was written to restore the “natural quiet” of the Grand
Canyon.

The new rules went into effect May 4. They limit the number of air tours
that can be conducted each year. Air-tour operators are allocated a certain
number of trips based on the number of flights they made in 1998 — which,
according to most operators, was an “off” year.

The United States Air Tour Association, the National Air Transportation
Association and the Helicopter Association International are backing the
lawsuit.

The suit alleges that the restrictions will do irreparable harm to air-tour
operators, limit visitors’ access to the park, and undermine efforts to
reach a compromise on noise issues related to air tours over national parks.

“We cannot sit by and permit these agencies to ignore the will of Congress,
to kill an important and vibrant part of the economy of the rural west, and
to close the Grand Canyon to visits by elderly and physically infirm
visitors,” said Steve Bassett, president of the United States Air Tour
Association.

When creating the Overflights Act of 1987, Congress decided against
eliminating air tours over the Grand Canyon. Members agreed at the time that
air tours are an environmentally sensitive way to see the park for visitors
who might otherwise not have access.

Air-tour operators argue that the new regulations violate federal law that
prohibits regulations that are “arbitrary, capricious or otherwise not in
accordance with the law.” They also charge that the regulations violate the
U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection because they do not apply
to a Native American group.

The air-tour operators’ lawsuit was imminent as we went to press May 5.


   Post your opinion on this story in the CAA General Aviation Forum
http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID2

*****************************************
California Aviation Alliance: General Aviation Airport List E-mail Commands
To subscribe to the GA News List, send an email, from the email account you wish to receive your posts on, addressed to listserv@californiaaviation.org and place the following in the first line of the body of the message:
 Subscribe ganews YourFirstName YourLastName YourJobTitle YourAirport/Company 

To unsubscribe from the GA News List, send an email, from the email account you have been receiving your posts on, addressed to listserv@californiaaviation.org and place the following in the first line of the body of the message:
 Unsubscribe ganews YourFirstName YourLastName