Sarita Aswani (60) was among the first to enjoy a 10-minute helicopter ride over Mumbai, launched by the tourism department and Pawan Hans
Pawan Hans, along with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), began their helicopter joyrides over Mumbai from Juhu aerodrome yesterday. While the operations seemed doubtful in the morning due to poor visibility, the rides commenced later in the afternoon. There was a delay even in the rescheduled flights. The flight operations, which were supposed to commence at 3 pm, took off at 3.29 pm and went on till 4.30 pm. The flights had five passengers and two pilots on board.
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Pawan Hans helicopters at the Juhu aerodrome. Pics/Nimesh Dave
A total of 60 passengers were booked for the first two days. Twenty-five passengers flew on Thursday while the rest will fly today. Speaking on this occasion, Paraag Jaiin Nainuttia, MTDC managing director said, “This has been a dream project for us at MTDC and Pawan Hans, and to see it finally coming alive is a delightful achievement. We are positive that the introduction of the heli-tours will elevate the overall travel experience for tourists visiting Maharashtra and Mumbai.”
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Maharashtra Chief Secretary, Swadheen Kshatriya, in the presence of Valsa Nair Singh, secretary of tourism and cultural affairs, inaugurated the heli-tours — a first for Pawan Hans and MTDC within Mumbai. The 5+2 (five passengers and two pilots) helicopters will now take off from the Juhu aerodrome every day for a total of 10 minutes per flight and will cover north and south Mumbai (up to Mahim), depending on the runway used at Juhu. There has to be a minimum of four bookings per flight for take-off. While infants below two years are not being charged, the cost of each ride is Rs 3,200 per person.
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