So about a month ago in our annual MauiTime Summer Guide, we said that Jurassic Helicopters was operating tours of Molokai and Haleakala from its home on the rooftop of the Hyatt Resort in Kaanapali. It was at least somewhat disconcerting to see helicopters four or so times a day flying low over water, then land on the Hyatt’s southern-most rooftop heliport.
But this apparently is no longer the case, as Jurassic ceased operations this week. Apparently, a lot of people at the County of Maui thought it was disconcerting, too.
“We have stopped operating off the heliport at the Hyatt,” company owner Laurence Balter told me on June 16. He added that the company stopped operating because “in the best interests of safety, we thought it was best to cease operations on the rooftop.”
County Communications Director Rod Antone acknowledged that the county’s Department of Fire and Public Safety did speak with Jurassic, but didn’t throw them off the roof.
“They just said to submit something to the Planning Department,” Antone told me today. “We’re talking about putting aircraft fuel on a hotel rooftop. They said to submit something so the Planning Department can make a determination.”
“We’re looking at other options right now,” Balter said. “We’ll be up and running soon.”
Photo: Jurassic Helicopters Facebook page
Comments
comments