IIT-Kanpur first to have helicopter service

The Indian
Institute of
Technology-Kanpur
(IIT-K) will on June 1
become the country's
first academic
institution to offer a
helicopter ferry service.
To be run by Pawan
Hans from the
institute's runway, the
facility would initially
offer flights to
Lucknow. It would be
extremely handy for IIT guests, faculty,
academicians, students, local industrialists and
others willing to fly to
Lucknow.
The first flight would
take off from the IIT-
Kanpur runway on June
1 and the seven-seater
helicopter will have a
capacity to carry five
passengers at a time.
Merchant's Chamber of
Uttar Pradesh, which is
the driving force behind
the launch of the
helicopter service, has
termed it as "an epic
moment in the history
of the IIT-K and the
industrial city".
Anita
Jha, Secretary General,
Merchant's Chamber of
Uttar Pradesh, said:
"IIT-K is launching this
service in association
with Pawan Hans
Limited. Though initially
the service would be
between Kanpur and
Lucknow, it would be
later extended to New
Delhi."
"Presently there is no
air connectivity
between Kanpur and
Lucknow and the flight
between Kanpur and
Delhi is not reliable.
Many a times this flight
gets cancelled due to
various reasons. The
new service will end
this uncertainty," said
Jha.
Talking about the
glitches in the way of
operations of more
flights from Kanpur to
other destinations,
Anita said: "The local
Chakeri airport runway
requires carpeting so
that it is 'smooth'
enough for handle
bigger planes.
The runway length also
needs to be extended.
Due to these
constraints, presently
only a 70-seater plane
flies between Kanpur
and Delhi. The helicopter
service can go a long
way in improving the air
connectivity between
Kanpur and Delhi till the
time Chakeri facilities
are upgraded," she
added.
Asked how will the
people of the industrial
city benefit with the
launch of the helicopter
service, Jha said: "IIT-K
people and local
industrialists will be at
an advantage as they
will not have to spend
two and a half hours
reaching Lucknow
airport via road. Now, in
much less time they will
be able to reach
Lucknow and board a
flight."
Anita added that that
"air connectivity from
Kanpur is very
important because the
number of passengers
flying to different
destinations from
Lucknow airport is very
high. "Over 40% of the
total passenger rush at
Lucknow's Amausi
airport is from Kanpur.
This shows the dire
need of operating more
flights to several
destinations from
Chakeri airport. But as
this is not possible at
the moment, the
helicopter service will
prove to be of great
help till the Chakeri
airport is expanded,"
she said.
"Air India is ready to
launch an Airbus from
the city, but the wait is
only for the upgradation
of the Chakeri airport
including installation of
Night Landing System.
When questioned about
the role of the Chamber
in the launch of the
service, Jha said:
"Merchants Chamber of
Uttar Pradesh has
partnered with IIT-
Kanpur in the
development of the
industrial city and this
step is like putting a
another step forward."
The helicopter facility
will be inaugurated on
Thursday by joint
director general, DGCA,
Anil Srivastava, who is
also the Chairman-Cum-
Managing Director of
Pawan Hans Limited,
and Prof Indranil Manna,
IIT-K director. Also
present will be some
leading industrialist of
Kanpur. Civil aviation
minister will also deliver
an address on the
inaugural ceremony
through video link.