Plaintiffs filed a mandamus petition in the DC Circuit pursuant to the FAA's direct review statute, contending that the NPS and the FAA violated the National Parks Air Tour Management Act by failing to complete legally required air tour management plans or voluntary agreements for 23 national parks for which such plans or agreements were required in the 20 years since the law had been enactdd. The court granted the mandamus petition and ordered the agencies to file a schedule for completing the plans or agreements for the 23 parks within 2 years of August 31, 2020.
The Court entered mandamus relief against the FAA and NPS finding that the agencies had failed to perform a nondiscretionary duty to comply with the National Parks Air Tour Management Act for 23 national parks for 20 years.