NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — A firm that wanted to bring another option for those seeking helicopter rides over Niagara Falls has been turned down from using the location they sought by the Niagara Falls City Council.
New Jersey-based Fly Hummingbird already has signed up at the helipad on Main Street near the Rainbow Bridge, which had been an operational helipad for decades.
For years, the Culbreth family operated their sightseeing tours from the helipad but then sold the business in 2019 to a Canadian firm, which kept the name - Rainbow Air.
When the lease on the property, owned by Niagara Falls hotelier Michael DiCienzo expired, Rainbow Air opted not to renew and is instead flying out of a temporary location at the Niagara Falls International Airport, pending construction of a new complex featuring two helipads and an entertainment complex.
Rainbow Air told city lawmakers their new location, on a currently vacant parcel off of Buffalo Avenue behind the Carborundum Center, will also house several state-of-the-art flight simulators as well as provide food and beverages as part of a year-round attraction.
However, while approving Rainbow Air's plan, city council members voted against Fly Hummingbird's plan to occupy the former home of Rainbow Air.
Meanwhile, Fly Hummingbird already has signs up on the property and a website offering tours over the Falls.
"Hummingbird produced to us two different flight plans, and with the two different flight plans we didn't know which one is right and which one is wrong, so it was turned down at this point in time," explained Niagara Falls City Councilman Kenny Tompkins.
"They can always come back and reapply for it, so I'm not gonna say it's dead right now," Tompkins said.
2 On Your Side reached out to an attorney representing Fly Hummingbird to inquire about its next steps, but received no phone call back as of Tuesday evening.