Tourism News
Helicopter service to boost tourism sector in the State
The tourism sector in 'God's Own
Country' is all set to gain an enormous fillip with helicopter services making
their foray in to the State. King National Air Charter (KNAC), a helicopter
company based in Thiruvananthapuram, would soon introduce helicopter services to
places of tourist interest and pilgrimage in the State. The flights would also
be operated for emergency medical evaluation, air charter operations and VIP
flights.
The initial investment for the project is Rs.140 million. The
helicopter A119 Koala, would cost about Rs.90 million. The cost of flying in the
seven-seater helicopter would depend up on the total number of flying hours in a
month.
"A helicopter or a mini-airline service has become a necessity in
the State and the Government has always been in favour of such projects." said,
Mr. T. Balakrishnan, Secretary, Kerala Tourism.
The final clearance for
KNAC from the Director General of Civil Aviation is expected within a couple of
months. KNAC has decided to launch its services in full swing by November this
year.
Initially, KNAC would operate its flight services in the
Thiruvananthapuram- Thekkady-Munnar- Kochi-Kumarakom- Thiruvananthapuram
circuit. The total flight time in the circuit is two hours and fifteen
minutes.
