Most restrictions lifted on aviation

Thursday, Dec. 20, 2001 | 9:47 a.m.

Except for a New Year's Eve flight restriction over the Strip for general aviation pilots, the skies over Las Vegas were expected to return to normal today.

The Federal Aviation Administration lifted remaining restrictions Wednesday on private planes flying in 30 metropolitan areas, including Las Vegas. Most private planes were grounded on Sept. 11. Only aircraft that file flight plans and that have transponders, which allow air traffic controllers to track them, had been able to fly since mid-October.

Now all aircraft, including blimps, news helicopters, scenic flights and banner-towers, can get back into operation.

"In respect to air space we will return to normalcy," FAA spokesman Jerry Snyder, of the Western Regional office in Los Angeles, said today. "But there will, of course, remain the number of restrictions like tighter security at airports that will be part of our new normalcy.

"And we will continue flight restrictions over sporting events like the upcoming Rose Bowl and other events like New Year's Eve over the Las Vegas Strip, where a number of hotels will have fireworks displays."

Major outdoor event coordinators in the past needed to ask for restrictions that prohibited flights lower than 4,000 feet over their events. Under the new restrictions, those prohibitions will be automatic, Snyder said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.