Chopper traffic soars on IPL night

Mumbai: The third edition of IPL started with a bang on Friday but one of its fallouts has had chartered chopper services drooling for more. The Indian corporate scene saw an unprecedented mass transportation by chartered choppers as more than 150 corporates were flown from the Mahalaxmi Racecourse and the Juhu airport to the venue of the first IPL match, DY Patil Stadium, in a span of a couple of hours.
The Mahalaxmi helipad saw 17 15-minute sorties to the stadium that occurred in the two hours between 4pm and 6pm.
The numbers are of significance as, in Mumbai skies, which are congested with commercial airline flights, smaller fry like helicopters have to endure delays if they have to fly across the approach paths of these jets.
"It could not have been possible without total co-operation from air traffic controllers in Juhu and Mumbai's main airport. There were absolutely no delays and that is why we could achieve these volumes and carry over 100 IPL top honchos and businessmen in two hours. Never have so many corporates been flown from one place to other in such a short time," said Pradip Thampi. His Executive Airways operated these flights with six helicopters, each carrying five-six passengers.
The helicopter traffic from Juhu airport too was dense. The helicopters that take off from Juhu fly 8-16 kms north keeping to the west of the Western Railway track and then are directed by the approach radar controller of Mumbai airport to the stadium. With the third edition of IPL just taking off and the Commonwealth Games just round the corner, aviation industry experts say both events will be a huge boost for inter- and intra-city helicopter charter services. Each such flight can cost anything between Rs 85,000 and Rs 1 lakh, with the amount being borne by the fliers.
14/03/10 Manju V/Times of India

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Mar 2010