Editorial: FAA should ground its canyon cap

Monday, Aug. 2, 1999 | 9:28 a.m.

Like other national parks the Grand Canyon is an attraction that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, whether one is navigating the Colorado River, hiking on a trail or sightseeing from the air. The ideal situation is to strike a balance where all visitors can enjoy the park equally.

The Federal Aviation Administration has gone too far, however, by proposing a cap on the number of flights air tour operators could make each year over the canyon. The proposal could hurt Southern Nevada's economy to the tune of more than $100 million a year, according to the Grand Canyon Air Tour Council.

The cap also would deprive many foreign tourists, who represent a majority of the passengers, from ever enjoying the canyon. That would be a shame. Many foreign tourists come to Las Vegas because they also want to see the Grand Canyon. Remove the canyon from their list of sightseeing options and they may just decide to vacation elsewhere.

The FAA reasoned that a cap on flights was needed to reduce the amount of noise over the canyon. The agency based that conclusion on a 1993 survey of visitors to the park. But in that survey, less than one-third of the hikers and only about one-quarter of the river users complained about noise. Since these numbers prove that only a minority are complaining, it is obvious that the FAA has gone overboard.

The agency has proposed a cap of 88,000 flights a year for at least two years with further restrictions possible down the road. Canyon operators would be granted flight allocations based on the number of tours they conducted from May 1997 to April 1998.

But as Sun reporter David Strow learned, basing the cap on 1997-98 is unfair because that was during the Japanese recession, handing the canyon tour industry one of its worst years in recent memory. Jim Petty, president of Air Vegas Airlines, said his allotment under the cap would be 20 percent below his 1997-98 numbers and only half the number of flights he is running now.

It is one thing for the federal government to crack down on monopolies and shady business practices. But it is entirely wrong for the government to place undue restrictions on an otherwise healthy, competitive industry. The FAA should take note and withdraw its flight cap proposal.