A law enacted in 2000 that was, until recently, never fully implemented is coming back to haunt U.S. air tour operators and could force many out of business. The law is imposing significant restrictions on air tours and could deny helicopters access to airspace that is supposed to be available to all users, a unique feature of the U.S. aviation infrastructure.

The National Park Air Tour Management Act of 2000 was signed into law on April 5, 2000, and eventually codified into FAA regulations with the publication of Part 136 in 2007. This set of rules applies to any commercial air tour operation flying over a unit of the national park system, tribal lands, and any area within a half mile outside the boundary of the national park. A specific requirement of the act was that operators must apply to the FAA for authority to conduct tours in those areas, and the FAA and National Park Service work together to establish air tour management plans for those operations.

Antique-airplane aficionados often refer to the 1930s as the golden age of aviation—an era that saw a proliferation of aircraft builders. Airports, while growing in number, were still a relative rarity at the time and the aircraft of the day reflected that: many models were seaplanes, be they amphibious or built solely for off-land operations, to take advantage of the fact that water covers 71 percent of the Earth’s surface. 

Technology and economics largely made business and commercial seaplanes irrelevant by the end of World War II, save for places like Alaska and Vancouver. However, today’s urban land gridlock and global economic development are conspiring to make seaplanes relevant again.

In the early hours of June 6, 1944, U.S. Army Air Corps pilot David Hamilton flew a C-47 Dakota filled with British Pathfinder paratroopers over Normandy, France, on his first combat mission. U.S. Navy signalman Vincent Unger was sailing toward Utah Beach on LCI 525, a landing craft carrying about 200 infantry troops on the first wave of the invasion. Royal Air Force driver David Teacher of the 103rd Beach Unit was in the seat of his three-ton wagon on a landing craft waiting to be delivered to Juno Beach. And U.S. Army infantryman Gerald Anderson would soon land on Omaha’s “Easy Red” beach with the second wave of the 1st Infantry Division.

All of these veterans, in their nineties, returned to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of the pivotal Allied invasion that turned the tide of World War II in Nazi-occupied Europe. More than 300 WWII veterans, including about 65 U.S. veterans of the Normandy campaign, attended a series of ceremonies on June 5 and 6, 2019, that included paratrooper drops, aircraft flyovers, and remarks by dignitaries.

In a move emblematic of the sea change at Bombardier over the last half dozen years, the Canadian airframer in early May inaugurated its new $500 million Global aircraft assembly center at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The celebration, which drew thousands—including the employees, their families, shareholders, and other dignitaries—marked the full transition from its production site in nearby Downsview, also in Ontario, Canada.

But it was also the latest step in an ongoing transition of the one-time conglomerate that winnowed into a pure-play business jet company, chipped away at a heavy net leverage debt ratio that just a few years ago was at 7.7 (now 3.3), and reshaped its business focus with the shuttering of the Learjet line, expansion of its services business, and renewed focus on its traditional Global and Challenger business lines as well as on sustainable concepts such as the blended-wing EcoJet.

At my first home airport we had an interesting mix of small private airplanes and corporate jet traffic. We got to know the jet crews fairly well, and it didn’t take long to learn who had a considerate aircraft owner and who did not.

The latter category treated their crews like valets, demanding of them a wide variety of demeaning tasks unrelated to aviation. There was an arrogance to these principals that is hard to imagine enduring on a daily basis—and it showed on some of the worn-down crews. Conversely, the good bosses were deferential and supportive, holding their crews in high regard. These owners understood that a happy crew, free of anxiety and stress, is a safer one.

Saudi Arabian officials this week gave further encouragement to eVTOL aircraft manufacturers by signaling their intention to fast-track commercial air taxi operations. According to reports in the government-controlled Saudi Press Agency, Saleh Al-Jasser, the country’s Minister of Transport and Logistics Services and chairman of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), intends to approve eVTOL aircraft to be used to carry pilgrims between holy sites, as well as for services such as emergency medical support and carrying medical supplies.

On Wednesday, with special approval from GACA, China’s EHang demonstrated its two-seat autonomous EH216-S aircraft in Mecca. The event was staged with the company’s new local partner, Front End, which is supporting EHang’s efforts to get its first eVTOL model approved for use in the Saudi market.

The regulations for private jet travel from the U.S. to Israel have become more stringent following the issuance of new regulations from Israel’s Aviation Security Operations Center (ASOC), which is responsible for aircraft traveling into the country’s airspace. According to the regulations, there are no longer any U.S. airports approved for direct flights to Israel and there are now only three authorized options for operators looking to fly to the country.

According to the regulations, the options are to hire one of two ASOC-approved security companies in the U.S. to meet the aircraft at the departure airport and conduct pre-departure screening; land at a pre-approved European airport en route for a security check before continuing to Israel; or for Part 91 flights only, enroll in the preferred carrier/aircraft program, which entails paying for ASOC to come visit them, conduct interviews, and provide crew training.

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