Commercial helicopter service to commence in March 2025: Minister

According to the Minister of Transport Mohamed Ameen, the Maldives government is poised to launch commercial helicopter service in March next year.

The ministry announced opportunity for interested parties to submit proposals to provide commercial helicopter service earlier on August 5, 2024.

Speaking to state-run Public Service Media (PSM), the minister noted that government will sign an agreement with the helicopter operator in the next 10 days.

“By March next year, commercial helicopter services will commence in the Maldives,” Ameen said.

The minister further revealed feasibility survey to launch the service was conducted under the instructions of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and added the most secure services will be utilized in the service.

Ameen further revealed that at the inception phase, services will include general passenger transfers, medical airlifts to Male’ City, and transfer of guests during evening when regular aviation operations cut off.

Earlier on August 21, the Regional Airports Company Limited (RACL) signed an agreement with Dubai’s Air Chateau DWC, a helicopter and vertiport operator; and Wings Capital Management from Abu Dhabi, to operate helicopter services in the Maldives for a 20-year period.

The project aims to establish up to 100 hybrid vertiports across 1,200 islands featuring Touch Down and Lift-Off (TLOF) areas, Final Approach and Take-Off (FATO) zones, safety zones, terminal waiting halls, and charging and fire-retardant infrastructure.

Besides this, the project also envisions the development of 500 drone ports dedicated to cargo operations, supporting first-, middle-, and last-mile logistics, all equipped with charging stations and fire-retardant systems.

Currently medical airlifts are carried out by the two military-grade helicopters and a Dornier aircraft gifted by India, which had been previously operated by Indian soldiers who have been replaced by civilian professionals under the current administration.