National Air Tour Safety Standards

This final rule sets safety and oversight rules for a broad variety of sightseeing and commercial air tour flights. Commercial air tour operators currently operating under part 121 or part 135 need to provide information in the form of a helicopter performance plan as required in part 136. These operators, conducting operations for charitable, nonprofit, or community events only, need to apply for and receive a Letter of Authorization (LOA) from the FAA. The LOA acts as an Operations Specification and provides information about each part 91 operators business. The FAA uses the information it collects and reviews to ensure compliance and adherence to regulations and, if necessary, take enforcement action on violators of the regulations.

The latest form for National Air Tour Safety Standards expires 2021-01-31 and can be found here.