A federal lawsuit against an Arizona company seeking fees due for scenic flights over the Grand Canyon may be the first of many.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for Arizona filed suit Tuesday against Air Grand Canyon Inc., claiming the air-tour operator owes at least $221,000 in flight fees.Besides seeking the overdue fees, the suit asked that Air Grand Canyon be barred from future flights until it pays up.
That could put the company out of business, its attorney said. Kenyon Jones said Air Grand Canyon was one of the smaller of the nearly 25 companies that fly tourists over the natural wonder near Arizona's border with Nevada and Utah and was being singled out improperly.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Bales said other air-tour companies are being investigated for fee nonpayment and that more lawsuits are expected.
An Interior memo says that, as of February, four companies owed nearly $1.2 million: Air Nevada, $740,000; Kenai Helicopters, $211,000; Windrock Aviation, $27,000; and Air Grand Canyon, $214,000.
The fees - $25 for a flight with up to 25 passengers, $50 per flight with more - were established by Congress in 1993.
The air-tour industry argues the National Park Service has no authority to collect the fees, however, and that air space over the Grand Canyon is controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The park service is part of the Interior Department; FAA is part of the Transportation Department. The suit was filed at interior's request and came shortly after Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., asked U.S. Attorney Janet Reno and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to take whatever action is needed to collect the fees.
Michael Johns, an assistant U.S. attorney, said Air Grand Canyon paid the fees through January 1995 but then told the National Park Service in August 1996 that it had called off payment on the grounds that the service lacked authority to collect the fees.
Air Grand Canyon had been told May 2 that it must pay up by May 16 or face possible legal action by the U.S. attorney for Arizona, Janet Napolitano.
Air-tour operators argue that only 14 percent of the Grand Canyon flight corridor is within in the park. They also argue their flights are the best way to see the canyon without harming it. Some operators have demanded that the fees they paid be refunded.
Environmentalists and others note that visitor fees were increased recently and that fees for commercial ground tours are to double or triple in the near future. They accuse the air-tour industry of trying to avoid paying its fair share of park operational and maintenance costs.