A (terrestrial) vista in the Belianske Tatras. (source: Radka Minarechová)
Sightseeing helicopters from Poland have been flying too low over the Tatra National Park (TANAP) for five years, say park authorities, who are now threatening legal action.
Environmentalists in the High Tatras warn that helicopters disturb the local fauna. The airspace above the territory of Slovakia’s largest national park is defined as an area with fauna sensitive to noise from air traffic. The TANAP office, which says it possesses incriminating imagery of low-flying helicopters belonging to one company in particular, is threatening to sue, writes the TASR newswire.
The minimum flying altitude over the protected territory of the national park is twice as high as in other areas. "Specifically, in our case, it is a height of 300 metres above the highest obstacle standing within a radius of 600 metres around the plane," the TANAP administration clarified. Particular attention should be paid to the areas surrounding an aircraft, and pilots must not, in theory, drop below the specified height.
The TANAP administration said that the Polish sightseeing company in question does not have any sort of permit to fly above restricted areas. The company, it alleges, has been profiting from the landscape for about five years while continuing to disturb local fauna and harm the nature of the Belianske Tatras (which lie at the eastern end of the High Tatras range).
“Despite the fact that we have multiple pieces of evidence, the company was not sanctioned in any way. Protection of the Tatra’s nature is our priority,” added the administration office.
