More Grand Canyon tourist flights sought

PHOENIX, March 22 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., says he wants a bigger increase in tourist flights over the Grand Canyon than the National Park Service proposes.

Saying it would save tourism jobs, Gosar introduced legislation last week that also would undo limits on flight patterns proposed by the Park Service in an effort to reduce noise, The (Flagstaff) Arizona Daily Sun reported.

The Park Service currently allows 57,000 tourist flights a year and has proposed an increase of 8,000, or 14 percent, provided air tour companies observe noise limitations, curfews and requirements for quieter aircraft.

The newspaper said the Park Service estimates more than 400,000 people take aerial tours of the Grand Canyon each year, and that information from two companies holding 80 percent of the permits for the canyon flights indicates the number of annual aerial sightseers would grow to more than 700,000, a 75 percent increase.

The three largest air tour companies in the area say the Park Service's plan would cost them about $18.5 million in annual revenue.

Gosar's legislation, called the Grand Canyon Tourism Jobs Protection Act of 2012, would head off the Park Service's proposal, the Daily Sun reported.

His bill is similar to one introduced by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., just a week before, which is backed by the air tourism industry.