Organization Issues Call to Action Over Possible Helicopter Restrictions in NYC

Vertical Aviation International is calling on its members to help prevent Introduction 0026-A from passing an upcoming vote. If their mission fails, only electric and essential helicopters will be allowed to operate using NYC heliports.

Int. 0026-A was proposed on February 8, 2024, in the New York City Council. It aims to reduce noise by regulating helicopter operations at city-owned heliports. Specifically, the legislation would “prohibit non-essential helicopter flights that do not meet certain federal noise standards from taking off or landing at city-run heliports” as well as “require that prior to the ban taking effect, the Council and the Mayor receive reports on the percentage of helicopter flights landing and leaving city-run heliports that do not meet such noise standards.”

For obvious reasons, many aviation advocacy groups were quick to go on the offensive against the bill. While reducing noise pollution and emissions is a big part of modern industry efforts, they argue, completely sealing off a massive part of the general aviation community may not be the way to do it.

Passing the “ill-informed” and “shortsighted” legislation could put caution tape around New York City as a whole. Blocking such a large number of flights paints the image of a region that is closed off to the industry as a whole, deterring new corporations and the environmentally friendly tech that they bring.

As if that isn’t ironic enough, the NYC Council has yet to address how they plan to ban airworthy helicopters from flying in FAA-regulated airspace. A recent case that was filed just a few miles away attempted a similar scheme, asking lawmakers to let the city privatize the airport and impose restrictions. The outcome confirmed that Federal regulations apply to all airports.

“...We’re looking at what may be the most serious political assault on the vertical aviation industry in the Northeast that we’ve ever seen,” expressed VAI. “This is true even considering long-standing efforts to shutter our industry- despite its role in providing needed services to the world’s most productive economic epicenters in one of the country’s busiest regional economic corridors.”

FMI: www.verticalavi.org