Financial Times

Civil helicopter flights to resume soon
By Duruthu Edirimuni
Domestic helicopter services are to resume soon with an Indian firm, Deccan India Pvt Ltd., together with its local partner, Favourite Group, about to get approval from the Civil Aviation Authority.

“Deccan Aviation has reached the final stages of their licensing procedure,” said Captain Sunil Cabraal, Assistant Director Aviation Security and Flight Operations Inspector for Helicopters of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Deccan is billed to start their operations by mid-February with a Textron Bell 205 L3IL4 helicopter. A company spokesman said they were awaiting approval.

Six more firms are contending for licences to run helicopter passenger services locally. Commercial helicopter operations were banned in the late 1990s because of the threat posed by the LTTE. IWS Holdings, Paradise Helicopters, European Helicopter Services, Air Taxis Ltd, Helicopter Mundogas and Nippon Lanka Trading are seeking licences from the aviation regulator to start domestic helicopter services.

CAA sources said that Maharajah Group, which was a contender, had pulled out. They have not given any reasons but the industry sources said that since the process of obtaining a licence is tedious, the Maharajah Group had abandoned the cause. CAA sources said that Paradise Helicopters is looking to starting in mid-March with an EADS Eurocopter AS350 B2 single-engine and AS355N multi-engine aircraft.

Helicopter Mundogas has put forward a Bell 407 six-seater, IWS Holdings wants to operate with an AS350BA helicopter, and Air Taxis Ltd with a seven-seater Chetak (Alouette III) helicopter. European Helicopter Services and Nippon Lanka Trading Co Ltd have not submitted details about the types of helicopters that they will be flying. According to the procedures drafted by the CAA in close liaison with the Sri Lanka Air Force, civil helicopter ventures would not be sanctioned into and out of uncleared zones of the north and east.

Colombo city limits also remain taboo for helicopter operations. Helicopter operators are required to give a minimum notice of two hours prior to the commencement of flights under the new set of laws developed by the Aviation Authority.

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