This Major National Park Will Sharply Reduce This High-Dollar Tourism Trend

Over 1 million people visit Hawaii‘s breathtaking Haleakalā National Park every year, but a popular mode of tourism in the park is about to be significantly reduced. On Jan. 11, the National Park Service announced the completion of its air tour management plan for Haleakalā National Park, and it includes some requirements that local companies will have to adhere to in the next decade. 

The plan is designed to reduce noise levels of air tours over the park to “protect natural and cultural resources, wilderness, the integrity of Native Hawaiian sacred sites and ceremonial areas, and visitor experiences,” according to the NPS. Tourists who want to get a bird’s eye view of the stunning Haleakalā Crater won’t be able to do so any more, as air tours are limited to a single one-way route from west to east over the southern area of the park; this avoids the site “where sound levels are among the lowest recorded in any national park, and protects key cultural and natural resources, visitor use areas, and park wilderness.”  

Related: A More Conscious Approach to Hawaiian Tourism

The plan authorizes a maximum of 2,224 air tours per year, marking a 54-percent drop from the current average of 4,824 each year. It also restricts the flights to between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. local time on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, though tours using quiet technology can fly between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on those days. Aircraft are required to fly at a minimum altitude of 2,000 feet above ground level over land and 3,000 feet above sea level over the ocean. 

Every Sunday and Wednesday aren’t the only no-fly days that will be permitted at the park. Commercial air tours will not be allowed on six days that follow the Hawaiian Moon Calendar and the Makahiki Season, both of which vary from year to year. In addition to both the summer and winter solstices, flights are prohibited at the beginning of Makahiki, usually in October, and the end in January, as well as the two Lāhainā Noons that are typically in May and July. Air tours also won’t be allowed on two culturally significant Hawaiian state holidays—Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Day on March 26 and King Kamehameha I Day on June 11—as well as six additional no-fly days of important cultural significance to Native Hawaiians. 

By Jan. 1, 2033, all commercial air tours in the area are required to use quiet technology. With the new regulations coming, it might be time to start saving and planning if you want to see the park by air.