Pawan Hans, the State-owned helicopter company is actively considering settling up an MRO (Maintainance & Repair Organisation) in Juhu, Mumbai. This apart, it is putting in place plans to increase its fleet strength from the present 45 to 145 over the next 10 years, said B.P. Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director.
Outlining the organisation’s activities as a part of the ongoing India Aviation 2016 show here on Thursday, he said that they had signed two MoUs - with Hindusthan Aeronautics Limited for an MRO for its ALH-Dhruv helicopters and with the IRCTC for developing heli-tourism. Currently, choppers are being operated in Goa and Mumbai and would soon be started in New Delhi too, he said.
“There is a lot of potential and we intend to be fully equipped to tap it. For example, we flew people in Rajahmundry at a fare of as less as Rs. 2,000 on sorties. The objective of Pawan Hans is to make flying accessible for the common man and we see a business to the tune of a whopping Rs.50,000 crore in the years to come in the helicopter sector,” Mr. Sharma explained.
Company’s Executive Director (Business Development & Marketing) Sanjiv Bahl, in his presentation said that India had currently less than one per cent of fleet strength, airports and heli-ports of the world’s number.
“There were 43,982 airports, 6,450 heli-ports, 3.62 lakh aircraft and 34,592 helicopters in the world at present. India has only 270 choppers run by 68 operators,” he said, adding that using choppers to handle medical emergencies was a focus area they were working on, now.
