Flights Will Be Restricted To Operators Using 'Quiet Technology'

The FAA is set to open up 1,721 flight allocations for Grand Canyon tour flights that it had abandoned in the past, as long as the flights do not increase the overall noise in the park.

The Associated Press reports that the Transportation bill passed in 2012 required the FAA and National Park Service to develop incentives for the use of "quiet air technology" (QT) at the Grand Canyon. The Park Service has already reduced the fee per flight from $25 to $20 for such aircraft. A formula that accounts for noise certification levels and number of seats is used to determine if an aircraft can be considered "quiet."

A notice posted in the Federal Register last week states "This is a one-time release of FAA-held allocations that will be available to operators for quiet aircraft technology flights during the 2014 air tour season and beyond. The FAA and NPS are continuing to make progress on additional quiet aircraft technology incentives for commercial air tour operators in Grand Canyon National Park."

The Federal Register indicates that the FAA currently holds 49 allocations in the Dragon and Zuni Point corridors of the park and 1,672 allocations elsewhere in the park Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) that it intends to release to commercial air tour operators that currently hold allocations in proportion to the number of QT operations that are flown by the respective operators in these areas during the first six months of calendar year 2014. These allocations are within the total annual number that are authorized to be flown in the Dragon and Zuni Point corridors and elsewhere in the SFRA, respectively, under 14 CFR Part 93, Subpart U. They will be used for operations using QT, as defined in Appendix A of 14 CFR Part 93, Subpart U.

FMI: Federal Register Notice