One-third of the air-tour operators in Grand Canyon
National Park are breaking the law by not paying a required $25 per
flight. According to data compiled by the Sierra Club, some
companies such as Las Vegas Airlines and Air Nevada allegedly fail
to report their business to the Park Service, and two operators
openly refuse to pay the fee. Meanwhile, air tours have boomed,
enabling operators to make millions of dollars off the canyon’s
spectacular views as their planes and helicopters buzz and roar
above the park.
“Every other park visitor,
including hikers, rafters, school groups and elderhostel tours,
pays their fair share,” says Julie Gale from the Grand Canyon
Trust. “We have a right to expect that a multimillion-dollar
industry would do the same.”
Although the Park
Service has collected air-tour records for the past three years,
the agency says there’s no way to enforce the 1993 law. The park
relies on the industry to pay the fee voluntarily, and the Park
Service, Federal Aviation Administration and Grand Canyon Airport
all have different records. ranging from 49,000 to 95,000 flights
for a 12-month period ending June 1996.
That
means the fee-dodgers may have unwittingly hurt their business,
says Maureen Oltrogee, public affairs officer for the park. A draft
rule proposed by the Park Service and the FAA includes a cap on
future flights at 1995-96 reported numbers, and they may be half
what were actually flown. The FAA has extended its comment period
on the proposed cap until Nov. 14 (HCN, 9/16/96).
*Katie Fesus
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Frequent fliers fleece Grand Canyon.
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