Pawan Hans, one of India's leading helicopter companies, has been given 'No Objection Certificate'

 Source: Dailyindia.com/ANI

New Delhi, May 25: Pawan Hans, one of India's leading helicopter companies, has been given a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) to operate as a scheduled operator in India.

The company will now join the club of scheduled airlines such as Indian Airlines and Air India. It is also exploring the possibility of venturing into fixed-wing operations. The company was incorporated in 1985 with the objective of providing helicopter services to the petroleum sector, linking inaccessible areas of the country, and operating charters to promote tourism.

Since its inception, the company has operated several helicopters and offered a wide range of services through its fleet of 34 helicopters, which includes Bell 206L4, Bell 407, Dauphin SA 365N, Dauphin AS 365N3, and Mi-172. In addition, Pawan Hans is also acquiring two new Dauphin N3 helicopters, which will be delivered in September-October.

Pawan Hans is a leader in providing offshore helicopter support in India. Its helicopters operate for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) at Bombay High and Hardy Exploration at Chennai. Public Sector Units (PSUs) such as GAIL use them for pipeline surveillance. The company also has a strong presence in the North East. Its helicopters are deployed in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, and Tripura. Regular passenger services are being run under the aegis of these State Governments.

The company also provides helicopters to Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands for inter-island helicopter services.