VAI issues call to action over NYC Council helicopter restrictions The New York City (NYC) Council will soon vote on Int. 0026-A, which will restrict nonessential helicopter operations at city heliports to fully electric-powered helicopters. Safety is our top priority and mission in everything we do, and we take pride in our work each and every day. Even with that, we’re looking at what may be the most serious political assault on the vertical aviation industry in the Northeast that we’ve ever seen. This is true even considering long-standing efforts to shutter our industry—despite its role in providing needed services to the world’s most productive economic epicenters in one of the country’s busiest regional economic corridors. Passage of Int. 0026-A will discourage investment in the development of next-generation, environmentally friendly vertical aviation technologies by signaling that New York is unwelcoming to the broader aviation industry. In fact, going far beyond any reasonable attempt at addressing community compatibility and environmental issues, this effort runs counter to the prioritization of accessible/quieter/cleaner technologies. Instead, it is the effort of a few to push an entire industry out of a global economic epicenter. VAI and our industry partners (ERHC, NBAA, GAMA, AOPA, NATA) continue to forcefully express opposition to ill-informed and shortsighted legislation like this because the future we want won’t just happen—we must build it. To be ready when the next generation of advanced air mobility (AAM) and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft can deliver on their promise, we must invest in our current vertical aviation infrastructure and priorities. We need you to act today! Demand that the NYC Council reject Int. 0026-A in favor of a truly inclusive, balanced approach that fosters innovation while preserving the critical role of vertical aviation in New York.
