M A I N   N E W S

Soon, hail a taxi to fly Himachal
Pratibha Chauhan/TNS

Three firms finalised for heli-taxi service MoU likely in a few days 57 helipads to be offered to private operators Govt not to charge anything from operators Service to cover district headquarters, tourist spots

Shimla, October 27
The much awaited heli-taxi service aimed at attracting high-end tourists to Himachal can finally take off with the government finalising the names of three companies with whom an agreement is likely to be signed within the next few days.

Officials of the Tourism Department held a meeting with representatives of the three operators here today to finalise terms and conditions of the MoU. The three shortlisted companies are Mesco, Sim Sam and Shiva.

The companies have already obtained permission from the Director-General Civil Aviation and are likely to start operations the moment the MoU with the Tourism Department is signed this week. Initially, it will be on trial basis. In all, 57 helipads are being offered to private operators in the state and 10 more are under construction in Mandi, Kinnaur and Sirmaur districts.

To begin with, the service will be made available to all district headquarters and famous tourist destinations. The government is yet to fix rates of the service, but it is keen that the charges are not exorbitant as it will not be taking any money from the operators for offering 57 helipads across the state.

The launch of the scheme will not only provide a facility to high-end tourists, but will also come in handy while tackling natural calamities and other disasters in any part of the state. The services of these operators can also be used during winter for tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti if the state government helicopters are not available.

At present, the absence of good air and rail connectivity is a major impediment in attracting high-end tourists to Himachal. The state has only three airports, at Jubbar Hatti (near Shimla), Bhuntar (near Kullu), and Gaggal (near Dharamsala). The flights of 18-seater planes from these three places are very erratic, thus affecting business adversely.

In fact, owners of five-star hotels in Shimla had told the government that they would assure occupancy in flights as their clients, mostly high-end tourists, invariably sought such services. Now, it remains to be seen how popular the services will get.