French Helo Lobby Concerned by New Rules

France’s helicopter lobby association, the UFH, is concerned about new rules recently released by the country’s civil aviation authority, the DGAC. The UFH
says the rules will jeopardize the economic viability of many helicopter operators. The national regulation prohibits training flights that involve repetitive maneuvers from flying near densely populated areas and also prohibits sightseeing flights to or from densely populated areas. More rules target the Paris heliport, located at the southwest border of the city. To reduce noise around the landing platform, helicopters are now required to follow more complicated flight paths–a limitation that will require a reduced mtow and will therefore eat into payload. The UFH also said the new routes are not consistent with existing noise-abatement measures for the heliport.