Shimla is the most visited tourist attraction of India and now its connectivity from Chandigarh has been made easier by Helicopter taxi service. The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jairam Thakur flagged off the helicopter taxi service between Shimla and Chandigarh, which will reduce the travel time between cities to just 20 minutes. This new service will be operated by Pawan Hans helicopter and can be availed on Mondays and Fridays.
The helicopter would be a six-seater and the ticket charge/fare would be Rs 3,390 per trip approximately.
The chopper took off from Shimla airport at Jubbarhatti at 8 am and reached Chandigarh at 8:20 am. After that it made the return journey from Chandigarh airport at 9 am and reached Shimla at 9:20 am.
According to the reports 60 per cent seats for the first month have been sold, few flights are full. The government is planning to introduce more such flights in the future depending on the public response.
Additional chief secretary of Himachal Ram Subhag Singh said that: “Connectivity is key to tourism, in near future under Udaan-II, we plan to cover more such tourist spots, then even more by next five to six months,”
The frequency of the service will be increased depending on the response from the passengers. By road, the distance between Shimla and Chandigarh is of 4 hours which has now been cut short to 20 minutes through this helicopter service.
How to book:
You can book the heli-taxi service from Pavitra Tours website – https://bit.ly/2JvUTql
Another scheme under consideration is regarding Rohtang pass, tourists would be dropped there, and they can move around for two hours and then would be airlifted back to Manali.
Around 15 years ago, the same type of taxi service failed to get much response. Thereafter, a 20-seater ATR aircraft was pressed on to this sector, but it also failed to carry on and the service was called off after a few months. Let’s see what response this service will get.
Earlier this month everyone was supporting the #saynotohills after the taps ran dry in Shimla.
