Regulations and Government
Air tour ‘lovefest’ follows latest Canyon court ruling
In light of the comity that almost turned a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on national parks overflights into a “lovefest” early last month, it is diffi

In light of the comity that almost turned a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on national parks overflights into a “lovefest” early last month, it is difficult to fathom why it has taken more than 15 years to reach agreement on rules for air tours over such noise-sensitive recreational areas.

Although Congress passed the National Parks Overflight Act in 1987 to regulate air tours over the Grand Canyon National Park, and followed that with the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000 to regulate air tours over the rest of the National Park System, the FAA has yet to act on a provision in the latter law to foster quiet-technology aircraft.