NBAA’s northeast regional director Brittany Davies testified this week before a New York City council hearing, arguing that recent efforts by the council to curb "non-essential" helicopter usage in the city would damage both the transportation system and the economic infrastructure.
The council’s Committee on Economic Development’s agenda items included calling for the state legislature to establish a noise tax on “non-essential” helicopter and seaplane operations, a motion to the FAA to ban such charter and tourist flights outright, and restricting operations at city heliports to only electric-powered rotorcraft.
“New York City is an international hub for commerce and intermodal transportation,” Davies said. “The proposed restrictions on helicopter operations at the city’s heliports would be devastating to New York City’s economy, operators, business, and workers that contribute to the creation of 43,200 jobs and generation of $8.6 billion in total economic output.”
Davies also cited the NBAA’s work toward the industry achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in response to criticism of the environmental impact of business aviation.