Commercial Air Tour Reporting Data - Larger Operators

UPDATED DECEMBER 2020
NOTIFICATION AND GUIDANCE
for
New Reporting Requirements for Commercial Air Tour Operators
Conducting Air Tour Operations Over National Parks
Commercial air tour operators conducting air tours over national parks and abutting tribal lands
are required to submit reports to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National
Park Service (NPS). In accordance with statutory requirements, this document details the
reporting requirements and provides updated guidance on how to complete the required
commercial air tour operator reports, including types of information to be reported, format,
reporting frequency, and data submission. Changes have been made to the reporting template as
well as to the reporting frequency; primarily, that operator reports at non-exempt parks are now
to be submitted on a semi-annual, not quarterly, basis.
BACKGROUND: The National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000, Public Law 106-181
(“NPATMA”), governing the conduct of commercial air tours over units of the national park
system and abutting tribal lands, was signed into law on April 5, 2000. The law is codified at 49
USC 40128. The regulations implementing NPATMA are 14 CFR Part 136, Subpart B, National
Parks Air Tour Management.
The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Title V – Environmental Streamlining)
amended NPATMA and established new reporting requirements for air tour operators under two
provisions. One provision [Section 501(e)(2)] amended subsection 501(d)(1) of NPATMA to
require each operator conducting a commercial air tour operation over a national park unit under
interim operating authority (IOA), or in accordance with an air tour management plan (ATMP)
or a voluntary agreement, to submit a report to both the FAA and the NPS regarding the number
of commercial air tour operations over each national park that are conducted by the operator and
such other information as FAA and NPS may request, with a frequency and in a format

1

prescribed by the agencies. The second provision [Section 501(b)] exempted national park units
that have 50 or fewer commercial air tour operations each year from the requirements of
NPATMA and established a separate annual reporting requirement for air tour operators
conducting commercial air tour operations over exempt parks. The FAA and NPS have
developed and recently revised the following framework for these reporting requirements. The
information collection has been authorized by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB
Control Number 2120-0750).

WHO THIS REPORTING REQUIREMENT APPLIES TO: NPATMA applies to any
person who conducts a commercial air tour operation below 5,000 feet above ground level over a
unit of the national park system, over tribal lands that are within or abutting a unit of the national
park system, or any area within a ½ mile outside a unit of the national park system or less than
one mile laterally from any geographic feature within the park (unless more than ½ mile outside
the park boundary). On October 25, 2002 the FAA published the final rule (14 CFR Part 136) to
fulfill the mandate of NPATMA. The FAA granted Interim Operating Authority (IOA) to those
operators who had conducted air tours over national parks prior to the enactment of NPATMA
(April 2000). Operators who currently hold IOA at one or more national park units that fall
under NPATMA* are subject to these revised reporting requirements. (* Note: Grand Canyon
National Park and park units in Alaska do not fall under the provisions of NPATMA).

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR AIR TOUR OPERATORS AT PARKS THAT
ARE NOT EXEMPT: In accordance with the statutory amendment, the FAA and NPS required
air tour operators conducting commercial air tours at parks that are not exempt from the
requirements of NPATMA to begin collecting information on their air tour operations starting on
January 1, 2013. Initially the agencies required that the operators submit reports on a quarterly
basis – every three months with the reports due no later than 30 days after the close of each
quarter. The agencies have revised the requested reporting frequency and are now requiring
operators to submit reports semi-annually. The first report, covering the period January 1 to June
30 of each year, will be due 30 days after the close of that six month period. The second report,

2

covering the period July 1 to December 31 of each year, will be due 30 days after the close of
that six month period.

For standardization and ease of data collection, an updated Excel spreadsheet reporting template
has been developed in which air tour operators can electronically enter their information and
data. This reporting template is to be used for those operators who are required to report semiannually and is available for download at the following websites:
•

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/arc/programs/air_tour_manage
ment_plan/program_information/

•

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/sound/airtours.htm

The Excel spreadsheet flight operations reporting template has open fields where operators will
input the information and data required by FAA and NPS in accordance with the statute. The
spreadsheet provides instructional text pop-up windows when the cursor is activated on the input
cell(s). The spreadsheet also includes an “Example” tab to assist operators in providing the
required information. At the top of the Excel spreadsheet template, the agencies are requiring
the following general information about each operator: operator / company name; dba – doingbusiness-as (if applicable); FAA certificate designator; reporting period (respondents need to
change the dates for each subsequent report); name of assigned FAA principal operations
inspector (POI); name of operator’s assigned FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO); and
FSDO phone number. There are now metadata fields for: location information where the
operator provides information on the parks where tours are conducted and departure sites;
aircraft information where aircraft tail numbers are included; and route information where route
names are defined. These metadata fields are not expected to change appreciably after being
filled out the first time. Then there is the air tour data submission section where the operators
provide the following information for each tour they conduct: date of tour; hour of tour; aircraft
make/model; and park route code. Instructional text pop-up windows are provided in most of the
column headers where information is requested (i.e. “Route Code”). In the bottom left corner of
the reporting template is a tab named “Example” where you can click on that to see how an
example report should be filled out. You can use that as guidance for your own submission.

3

No later than 30 days after the close of each six month period the operator must submit their
report concurrently to both the FAA and NPS. Operators will submit the filled out Excel
spreadsheet template via email to:
•

[email protected]
and

•

[email protected]

Or they may be mailed via the U.S. Postal Service directly to:
Special Programs Staff
Federal Aviation Administration
777 S. Aviation Boulevard, Suite 150
El Segundo, CA 90245
ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR EXEMPT PARKS: In accordance with
statutory amendment, air tour operators conducting commercial air tours at parks that are exempt
from NPATMA on the basis of having 50 or fewer annual commercial air tours are to report to
both the FAA and NPS the annual number of operations for those parks in order for the agencies
to affirm park exemptions each year. If you are flying over any of the parks listed on the most
recent exempt park list, you only need to report the total number of commercial air tour flights
that you conducted during the prior reporting year for each individual park over which you
conducted those operations. For example, if you conducted operations over five of the parks on
the exempt park list, you will submit five operational counts; one for each of the parks over
which you conducted air tours during the prior reporting year.
Reports will be made annually, not semi-annually. Reports are due 30 days after the close of the
calendar year. Operators must send an email reporting the number of annual operations flown
over any exempt park(s) for the period January 1 – December 31 to the same email addresses
listed above, or that information can be mailed to the FAA Special Programs Staff (mailing

4

address listed above). Each subsequent year of reportable data collection will begin January 1 of
each year, and each resulting subsequent annual report must be submitted to both the FAA and
NPS no later than January 30 of the next year.

The FAA and NPS will annually publish a list of exempt parks in the Federal Register and post
the list on the FAA and NPS websites listed under above. The list could change from year to
year. Parks may be added to the exempt list based on the prior year’s number of annual
operations. Parks may also be withdrawn from the exempt list if it is found, through the
reporting or other information, that operators have cumulatively exceeded the 50 annual
commercial air tour operation threshold for the given park in a given year. Under the statute,
exemptions may also be withdrawn by the NPS if determined necessary to protect park resources
or park visitor use and enjoyment. In carrying out this responsibility, the NPS may request
additional information from operators at specific parks to assist in determining whether that park
should remain on the exempt park list. Parks that lose exempt status will return to semi-annual
reporting requirements and will require establishment of an air tour management plan or a
voluntary agreement.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Should you have questions regarding this
guidance document please contact Keith Lusk, FAAWestern-Pacific Region Special Programs
Staff, (424) 405-7017, [email protected].

________________________________
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

November 17, 2020
________________________________
Date

5