Govt fails to meet deadline for launch of helicopter service

The Maldivian government has failed to meet the deadline it set last year for the launch of commercial helicopter services in the Maldives.

In August 2024, the Transport Ministry invited bids from parties interested in providing commercial helicopter services in the Maldives. And in a TV interview in November, Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen said the service would launch by March.

It is now well over a month past this deadline.

The Transport Ministry was not immediately available for comment regarding the situation.

The Transport Ministry invited bids to provide commercial helicopter services, including medical evacuations and guest transfers, on August 5.

And 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.

It 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 evacuations 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 were replaced by civilian professionals last year.