Heli-taxi gets costlier from July 1

Ishrat S Banwait

Tribune News Service

Mohali, June 21

Fliers planning to book the Chandigarh-Shimla heli-taxi will now have to shell out Rs 500 more and will have to travel 10 minutes extra. Pawan Hans, that started the service this month, has hiked the ticket price. While fliers have to pay Rs 2,999 for a seat in the chopper till June, starting July 1, they will have to pay Rs 3,499 for it.

The increase in time is due to the change in the landing site in Shimla. When the service started, the chopper landed at the Jubbarhatti airport, which is far away from the city. Now, the chopper lands at the Annandale ground in the city. A one-side chopper ride now takes 30 minutes instead of the earlier 20.

All 18 seats are booked for the rest of the month and starting July 1, the heli-taxi will operate thrice a week. As of now, the heli-taxi operates on Monday and Friday. From July 1, the service will also be available on Wednesday. The bookings for it have already started. 

Pawan Hans had announced that it would decide on increasing the frequency of the service based on the response. The service has received a great response with all seats being booked for June. 

The service was inaugurated by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on June 4 from Shimla. The heli-taxi service was introduced to encourage air tourism in North India.

Ticket to cost Rs 3,499; travel time now 30 mins

Pawan Hans, that started the service this month, has hiked the ticket price. While fliers have to pay Rs 2,999 for a seat in the chopper till June, starting July 1, they will have to pay Rs 3,499 for it. The travel time too has increased to 30 minutes from 20 minutes