The decision to introduce helicopter rides to nine towns in Mizoram from Aizawl was taken yesterday at a high-level meeting of senior officials in the Assembly building. It was presided over by chief minister Lalthanhawla.
According to the Mizoram government’s principal consultant of the civil aviation, Wing Commander (retd) Lalzawma, the inaugural flight in a copter having six seats will take off on August 14 from Thuampui helipad in Aizawl. The helicopter will take 30 minutes to land at Lunglei, the second biggest town in Mizoram in the state’s southern flank.
The road distance between Lunglei and Aizawl is 417km. The price of an air ticket will be Rs 1,500.
The towns chosen for the rides from Aizawl are Saiha, Lawngtlai, Champhai, Khawzawl, Lunglei, Kamalanagar, Hnathial, Serchip and Kolosib.
The longest ride (50 minutes) in this Dauphin type Pawan Hans helicopter will be between Aizawl and Saiha. The shortest duration (15 minutes) is between Aizawl and Kolosib.
Aizawl is connected by Air India flights from Calcutta, Guwahati and Imphal while a Jet Airways daily flight links it with Calcutta.
A Cessna Caravan flight between Imphal and Aizawl was terminated after the nine-seater small aircraft crashed in Mizoram’s lone airport at Lengpui, 40km from Aizawl, on May 4 last year after it overshot the tabletop runway and dived into a runway side ditch. All the nine passengers suffered injuries.
The regular departure from Aizawl by the Pawn Hans helicopter will be maintained from August 16, two days after its ceremonial inaugural flight between Aizawl and Lunglei, official sources added.