Eurocopter believes India's private and parapublic helicopter fleet should be 10 times bigger, but that taxation and regulation hold back the effective employment of helicopters in the country.
It also takes a great deal of time for helicopter operators to file and receive approval for flight plans, says Lutz Bertling, president and CEO of Eurocopter, at a media roundtable at India's Defexpo 2012.
"There are strong limiting factors," says Bertling. He estimates that there are roughly 260 private and parapublic helicopters in India, a small number given the country's vast population. Of these, 80 were produced by Eurocopter.
He pointed out that emergency medical evacuation in India is virtually unheard of owing to the red tape involved in arranging helicopter flight.
Source: Flight International
