Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona is the latest U.S. National Park to prohibit commercial air tours as part of its new Air Tour Management Plan (ATMP).
The plan, a collaborative effort between the National Park Service (NPS) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), prohibits commercial air tours over the park and within a half-mile of its boundaries.
“Prohibiting commercial air tours protects these lands’ cultural and spiritual significance to the Navajo Nation,” said Park Superintendent Lyn Carranza in a press release.
Canyon de Chelly’s ATMP is part of a nationwide effort to align commercial air tour operations with the mission of the NPS and the FAA’s safety regulations. Canyon de Chelly now follows similar restrictions at other parks, including Glacier National Park in Montana and Badlands National Park in South Dakota.
Bruce Adams, owner of Southwest Safaris, an air tour business that’s been operating at the park for roughly 50 years, told local news AZ Central that the decision didn’t come as a surprise, but nonetheless it was still disappointing.
According to the release, the plan was signed on Dec.19 and will go into effect 180 days later.
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