The helicopter ride— organised as part of the ongoing Dasara festivities— to get an aerial tour of the City of Palaces has turned out to be a big hit.
The reasonably good response to the joy rides in the chopper has resulted in the district administration deploying another helicopter to meet the demand. Barring a 90-minute break for lunch, the two helicopters are making flights from 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. carrying 12 persons (six in each chopper) in each trip. The 12-minute ride for adults costs Rs. 2,499 and Rs. 2,299 for children.
The helicopters are being operated from the Lalitha Mahal helipad located on the foothills of the Chamundi Hills here. The venue is also cited as one of the prime reasons for the helicopter ride getting a good response owing to the proximity of the helipad to the city.
“The ride is reasonably priced when compared to the rides in other parts as we negotiated with the operators bearing miscellaneous costs to offer a new attraction to locals and tourists,” Additional Deputy Commissioner Venaktesh told The Hindu . Chipsan Aviation agreed to operate at the same cost and started flying its chopper from the third day of the launch. Pavan Hans Helicopters Pvt. Ltd., a government of India enterprise, was the first to launch heli rides in Mysuru for Dasara on the district administration’s request.
He said the two choppers are flying for almost eight hours a day with short breaks. “The response has been overwhelming with many locals making use of the facility to watch their city from the air.” The heli rides are available till October 15 and they may be continued for a few more days if the response continues to be good. A decision on this will be taken after October 15, he added.
