Helitours
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| Founded | 1979 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | ||||
| Fleet size | 16 | |||
| Destinations | 13 | |||
| Company slogan | Discover Serendipity | |||
| Headquarters | Colombo, Sri Lanka | |||
| Key people | Rasanga de Zoysa | |||
| Website | www.helitours.lk | |||
Helitours is a domestic airline in Sri Lanka operated by the Sri Lanka Air Force with aircraft not required for military use. It is currently the second largest airline in Sri Lanka with a fleet of 16 aircraft behind Sri Lankan Airline's 23. The airline will resume its international flight from Colombo-Ratmalana to Male by the first quarter of 2013.
History
Helitours' air service was started in 1972 on the initiative of Air Chief Marshal Deshamanya Paddy Mendis to cater to the tourist industry.
By the end of 1972 Helitours was flying to Male as well.
In 1973 a Convair 440 was purchased second hand from Eastern Airlines, to boost Helitours' operations between Ceylon and the Maldives.
In the early 1980s operations first slowed down, then stopped due to operational requirements emerging from the onset of the Sri Lankan civil war.
However, in 2009 upon cessation of hostilities the air force restarted Helitours' operations. During the civil war, the air force provided civil air transport to Jaffna, but this was not considered to be a Helitours operation.
Destinations
Helitours is set resume its flights to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in Malé using Xian MA-60 aircraft.
| [H] | Primary Hub |
| ‡ | Secondary hub |
| [F] | Future destination |
| [T] | Terminated destination |
| City | Country | IATA | ICAO | Airport | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ampara |  Sri Lanka | GOY | VCCG | Ampara Airport | |
| Anuradhapura | Sri Lanka | ACJ | VCCA | Anuradhapura Airport | |
| Batticaloa | Sri Lanka | BTC | VCCB | Batticaloa Airport | |
| Colombo | Sri Lanka | RML | VCCC | Ratmalana Airport[H] | |
| Hambantota | Sri Lanka | HRI | VCRI | Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport‡ | |
| Jaffna | Sri Lanka | JAF | VCCJ | Jaffna Airport | |
| Killinochchi | Sri Lanka | TBA | TBA | Iranamadu Airport | |
| Malé |  Maldives | MLE | VRMM | Ibrahim Nasir International Airport[T] | |
| Trincomalee | Sri Lanka | TRR | VCCT | China Bay Airport | |
| Vavuniya | Sri Lanka | TBA | VCCV | Vavuniya Airport | |
| Hambantota | Sri Lanka | WRZ | VCCW | Weerawila Airport | |
| Koggala | Sri Lanka | KCT | VCCK | Koggala Airport |
Fleet
Helitours will add 16 helicopters(Fourteen MI17s with 20-seater capacity and two Bell 412 helicopters) by the end of 2013, and in the future will order 6 narrow-body jet aircraft like the Airbus A319.[citation needed]
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers (Economy) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bell 412 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |
| Bell 212 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |
| Bell 206 JetRanger | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| Harbin Y-12 | 4 | 0 | 10 | |
| Mil Mi-17 | 3 | 0 | 24 | |
| Xian MA60 | 2 | 0 | 47 | |
| Antonov AN-32 | 1 | 0 | 45 | |
| Total | 16 | 0 |
Previous fleet
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell 206 | 3 | unknown | unknown |
| Convair 440 | 1 | 1973 | 1980 |
| De Havilland DH.104 Dove | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Douglas DC-3 | unknown | unknown | unknown |
Notes
Helitours is a domestic airline in Sri Lanka with a fleet of 16. It flies to 13 destinations.
References
External links
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