NEW DELHI: India’s first integrated heliport was inaugurated in the national capital here at Rohini in north Delhi built by state-owned Pawan Hans, which consists of a terminal building, with a capacity of 150 passengers, four hangars with parking capacity for 16 helicopters and nine parking bays.
Referring the heliport as first of its kind facility in South Asia, Civil Aviation Minister A Gajapathi Raju who inaugurated the heliport said domestic air passenger traffic in India is seeing the fastest growth in the world and “we need to pull our socks".
The minister also informed that the integrated heliport will be able to maintain its operations as it would also have the facility of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services which will help it in raising funds internally. Additionally a pilot training centre would also come up soon, said the minister.
The Rohini heliport has been completed in almost two years at a cost of nearly 100 crore.
This Heliport will provide all helicopter operational facilities and will decongest busy Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, and also promote Regional Air connectivity through helicopters in the northern part of the country for regular passenger services, heli-services, landing and parking of helicopters, disaster management, helicopter emergency medical services in addition to law and order surveillance.
The commencement of services from the heliport is also expected to reduce congestion at the Delhi airport, which currently handles about 40-50 helicopter arrivals and departures on an average per day besides the large-scale fixed-wing operations.
The Secretary, Civil Aviation, R.N Choubey said that it is part of National Aviation Policy to have four heliports, one in each region and Rohini’s heliport is the first step. He also said that helicopter operations could be shifted from IGI airport to Rohini.
Pawan Hans has also prepared a roadmap to connect all the major destination from this Heliport such as Delhi to Shimla, Haridwar, Dehradun Mathura, Agra, Meerut and Industrial Hubs such as Manesar, Bahadurgarh and few other destinations.