The National Park Service is accepting applications from businesses interested in providing seaplane service to the Dry Tortugas National Park, a cluster of islands that includes historic Fort Jefferson about 70 miles west of Key West.
The current service contract, known as a Commercial Use Authorization (CUA), was granted for two years, and current providers are welcome to apply for another two-year contract.
Only one seaplane company will be granted a CUA, and applications must be submitted by March 27, according to a press release from the park service, which opened the application period on Feb. 27.
The chosen operator will be granted a two-year contract, and businesses with existing contracts will not be given preferential treatment, the National Park Service website states.
The current service provider, Key West Seaplane Adventures, is a division of Promech Air, a charter company based in southeast Alaska. The local division is owned in part by Florida Keys real estate developer Pritam Singh, who is listed as the vice president of Key West Seaplane Adventures, according to the Florida Department of State.
Representatives of other local air charter services declined to comment on whether they planned to apply for the seaplane CUA at the Dry Tortugas. Pilots and business owners were surprised two years ago when park managers limited to one the number of seaplane companies and ferry services that could access the park.
The current application for seaplane companies states that the park superintendent and a panel of reviewers will rank the submissions and the CUA will be awarded to "the most qualified operator as determined by the panel on the basis of visitor safety, resource protection, relevant experience and credit history."
The chosen provider will be allowed to bring up to 60 passengers to the park each day, and is allowed one round-trip flight per hour.
The application asks for pilots' experience both in the air and in the Dry Totugas, safety plans and procedures for briefing passengers on the environmentally protected area that includes marine research areas, a campsite, snorkel areas, fishing and diving excursions with permitted operators and the Civil War-era Fort Jefferson, which dominates the cluster of islands.
The National Park Service did not respond Friday to emailed questions about the application process.
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