The New York City Council has voted to severely restrict non-essential helicopter operations at city heliports, despite strong opposition aviation industry groups.
Only essential helicopter operations — such as US armed forces, emergency services, newsgathering and commercial aerial photography — will be able to operate from the city’s heliports. Electric vertical-lift vehicles (eVTOLs), will be exempt from the restrictions which are due to take effect on December 1, 2029.
Industry associations – Vertical Aviation International, Eastern Region Helicopter Council, National Business Aviation Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, National Air Transportation Association – have written an open letter to protest the legislation. The bill exceeds the city’s authority because aviation is regulated on a federal level, says the industry group.
“In brief, the Bill would prohibit helicopters that do not meet federal “Stage 3” noise emission standards from conducting “non-essential” operations at the two Manhattan heliports owned by the City – the Downtown Manhattan Heliport (JRB) and the East 34th Street Heliport (6N5). The explicit motivation for this Bill is to reduce the impact of noise from operations at the heliports. The helicopter industry already endeavors to understand and reduce its impact on neighbors, and the Manhattan heliports are already subject to unique restrictions on operations,” writes the industry group.
“But not only would this Bill have significant negative impacts upon those heliports and the many organizations, businesses, and industries that they support, it also would have devastating economic and safety ramifications on New York City and the surrounding areas that rely on these heliports for air transportation, including emergency and medical transportation. For example, without the revenue from all of the types of flights that the heliports currently accommodate, their operation would become financially unsustainable.”
The bill now awaits Mayor Eric Adams’ signature to become law.
For more information
https://download.aopa.org/advocacy/2025/2025-04-21_NYC_Coalition_Opposition_Letter.pdf
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