Approximately three million tourists visit Mumbai every year to soak in the legacy of India’s economic capital. But the greatest hindrance to road based tour packages is that it consumes time and leaves you exhausted.
How about an aerial tour, which takes 15 minutes to complete and gives you bird-eye view of the megapolis?
IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) has understood the problem, and have come up with an innovative and exciting offer for tourists: Mumbai Air Darshan.
This special, one of it’s kind tourist service has been launched in collaboration with a private helicopter service provider, and starts with Rs 5580 per person for a 15 minute ride.
As per the official portal: “Helicopter joy ride 1000 feet above the city or the coast is an unforgettable way to experience the breathtaking beauty of Mumbai and its surrounding areas.. Enjoy the panoramic views of the Mumbai and it’s coastline from your armchair in the sky.”
As of now, the service would be available between April 22 to October 21 (Monday to Saturday, 11 AM to 4.30 PM) .There are only 39 available slots between this period.
As per the itinerary, there are two routes: North Mumbai and South Mumbai; for both the routes, Juhu is the central hub.
North Mumbai tour will start from Juhu and in the next 15 minutes, tourists would be able to fly over Juhu, Varsova Malad, Gorai, Pagoda, Essel World. South Mumbai tour’s itinerary covers: Juhu, Bandra-Worli Sea Link, Haji Ali and back. The North Mumbai Route.
As per reports, there can be another package which is currently not displayed on the website: a private, chartered tour for Rs 20,000 covering 15 minutes of flight time.
Some interesting pointers:
- Children below 2 years of age would not be allowed on this joy ride
- Mobile or camera photography is not allowed (this can be a major deterrence)
- Passengers sitting next to pilot should not wear sarees; besides that there is no other dress code
- Only those pilots who have more than 2000 hours of flying experience would accompany tourists in the helicopter
- Only three passengers would be allowed inside the helicopter at a given time
- Passengers are encouraged to carry a medical certificate while boarding the flight
- IRCTC would not be responsible for any air crash or accident (???)
This is the first city based aerial tour package started by IRCTC. Some other air packages which are currently offered by IRCTC includes: Bengalore-Goa, Shirdi-Chennai, Shrdi-Delhi, Golden Triangle of Karnataka and Himanchal’s Delight packages.
Besides their official portal, tourists can SMS “HELI” to 09004082742 for registrations & bookings.
Dont know what quality check IRCTC does. One of their partners, Yagna Aviation and its management (Nandan Korgaokar) have provided pathetic service to us !! Cheated people, unfufiled commitments, rude and audacious once they take your money! I dont think Yagna Aviation owns even a single chopper, they are mere coordinators and even at this Mr.Nandan does a pathetic job. So better book through fleet owners directly.
Such a nice information.. Really this article is helpful to who need to travel in flights