Commercial Air Tours Over Bandelier National Monument to Be Banned

The National Park Service (NPS) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have completed an air tour management plan for Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. As part of the plan, commercial air tours will be banned in and around the national monument.

Commercial air tours are a type of flight that visitors can pay to join for sightseeing. Aside from the additional greenhouse gas emissions from aviation, these flights also contribute to noise pollution. 

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000 was developed to combat noise pollution in national parks, as it disrupts wildlife and other park visitors. But in 2020, a federal appeals court found a lack of enforcement for the Air Tour Management Act, prompting an Overflights Program to be created. This program aimed to create a set schedule for enforcing commercial air tour regulations.

As such, NPS has just announced a ban enforcement for Bandelier National Monument, after signing the air tour management plan for the national monument on February 29. The ban is to go into effect within 180 days of the signature date of the act. 

The plan bans commercial air tours over Bandelier National Monument and within a 0.5-mile radius from the park boundary. According to NPS, this ban is to preserve natural park resources and cultural resources, including Tribal sacred sites and ceremonial areas.

“The Bandelier National Monument Air Tour Management Plan reflects the engagement and input by many stakeholders. Prohibiting commercial air tours protects the cultural and spiritual significance of these lands to Tribes, and ensures the park experience desired by visitors,” Park Superintendent Patrick Suddath said in a statement.

NPS shared in a press release that the operator that currently offers commercial air tours at Bandier National Monument will be allowed to continue with these tours “up to the limit of their Interim Operating Authority and until their Operation Specifications are amended.” Afterward, the commercial air tours will be banned completely within the boundary outlined in the air tour management plan.

NPS and FAA have recently completed several air tour management plans for other national park sites, including for Haleakalā National Park, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Badlands National Park and Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

The first commercial air tour was offered over the Grand Canyon in 1919, and now there are around 200,000 tours each year, NPS reported.

“Away from roads and developed areas, the sight and sound of aircraft are often the only perceptible human impact. Some of the very areas where the potential for solitude and natural quiet is greatest are places where aircraft noise may be most intrusive,” NPS shared on its website. “Noise affects the experiences of park visitors as well as wildlife, whether a rafter drifting through a canyon, or a pika listening for warning calls.”