BEGUMPET: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman and Managing Director MD DK Sunil on Wednesday ruled out resumption of domestic commercial operations in Bengaluru’s HAL airport until 2033.
The four-day aviation meet, Wings India 2026, began at Begumpet in Hyderabad on Wednesday. “Since the concessionaire agreement with the Bangalore International Airport Limited that does not permit operations of any other airport within a 150-km radius, we will not be able to open our airport until 2033, when their 15-year agreement concludes.”
He said the government-owned helicopter company, Pawan Hans Limited, will buy 10 of its Dhruv Next Generation (NG) helicopters in the near future. The 10 deliveries will happen in the financial year 2026-2027, he said.
The MD said, “Civilian footprint has been very small in our portfolio. Almost 97% of our footprint has been in the defence manufacturing side. But as a corporate policy, over the last few years we have made a conscious decision that we need to diversify away from defence and increase the civil component in our sales.”
“We have obtained Civil Certification of the Dornier 228 which is the mainstay of our navy, air force and coast guard for their applications. We have got it recertified as Hindustan 228. The certification was issued by the DGCA.”
“We have supplied two such aircraft to Guyana and they are flying it in the West Indies. We have signed the contract for two more just recently.” Sunil said, “We can see good business there in the West Indies and the archipelago areas like Malaysia, Indonesia and so on.”
HAL is also set to get certification of the civil variant of the Dhruv Next Generation (NG) helicopters. “It is a Third Generation Aircraft with a glass cockpit and an engine which is manufactured by the HAL. Recently, we flew the first flight during a function which was attended by the Union Minister for Civil Aviation and we expect to complete the certification in the next couple of months.
“Pawan Hans will deploy the NG aircraft for the offshore operations of ONGC between Mumbai and Bombay High from the 2026-2027 financial year,” the Chairman added.
The aircraft has many built-in safety features like terrain awareness and the engine is civil certified. “We see a great opportunity for this helicopter in the BSF (Border Security Force) in the heli-tourism in the Northern sector for evacuation on the highways and so on.“
He said the SJ-100 presently showcased in Wings India is a world-class aircraft. “It is filling up the gap for a 100-seater for short-range, regional operations. Manufacture of this aircraft will start within the next three years,” he added.