Avoid traffic blocks, take chopper to BIA

Avoid traffic blocks, take chopper to BIA
Anshul Dhamija | TNN



Captain Gopinath, the country’s pioneer in low-cost air travel, will soon have another first to his credit. Gopinath’s much-awaited chopper service from Bengaluru International Airport to various points in the city will take off in five-six days. The service was initially scheduled to start operations on the same day as BIA.
Speaking to TOI before boarding Lufthansa’s inaugural flight from BIA to Frankfurt, Gopinath said, “A lot of legalities had to be completed. As the concession agreement between the promoters of the new airport, BIAL, and the government is watertight, we had to get clearances from various authorities.”
Gopinath’s Deccan Aviation will fly passengers from BIA to various points in the city including Infosys Technologies, UB City and HAL airport. To begin with, Deccan Aviation will press into service two chopppers — a 7-seater Bell helicopter and a 5-seater Eurocopter. The frequency of the service is likely to be 30 minutes. Cost of a oneway chopper ride from BIA to HAL or UB City is Rs 4,500. Flying one-way to Infosys will cost Rs 5,700.
“As the concession agreement does not allow commercial operations at HAL airport once BIA opens, we had to get a no-objection certificate from BIAL. The government has also given us the go-ahead,” said Gopinath.
He added an MoU between Deccan Aviation and Infosys Technologies was signed for the use of the latter’s helipad, and DGCA clearance for use of UB City’s helipad is awaited.
Gopinath has invested over Rs 1 crore in setting up a small helipad facility just outside BIA with lounge, engineering centre and office area.
Gopinath also plans to broaden the reach of the service to nearby destinations like Mysore. Depending on the type of chopper one hires, the cost per hour will range between Rs 75,000 and Rs 1,50,000.