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More Summer Flights Over Grand Canyon In Exchange For Quiet Technology
Photo by Laurel Morales
Tourists wait to board a helicopter at Grand Canyon Airport for a tour of the national park.
Under a new proposal the National Park Service will allow more flights over the Grand Canyon in summer months, as an incentive for installing quiet technology.
Until recently the National Park Service and air tour operators had a turbulent relationship. It all started with a mid-air collision over the Grand Canyon in 1956, when 128 people died.
That led to the establishment of the Federal Aviation Administration and stricter limits that have been debated and modified every few years.
The latest is called the “seasonal relief program.” If approved, it will allow operators who upgrade their aircraft with quiet technology to transfer flight allocations that go unused during slower winter months to the summer.
The new incentive has the potential to add about 3,700 flights in summer months in the Dragon-Zuni corridor, a popular scenic flight path.
Pilots already fly up to 57,000 trips a year over the canyon, more than any other national park.
The public will have 30 days to comment.
