Ahmedabad to roll out helicopter joyrides, seaplane services before Gujarat Global Summit

Gujarat’s biennial flagship event, Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) 2022, will be held in January. It will be the tenth edition of VGGS and the state civil aviation department, in association with the tourist department, is all set to unleash various activities in Gujarat skies. The government will begin helicopter joyrides in Ahmedabad city and will start an air ambulance service. Air ambulance services will allow people to hire helicopters in order to visit tourist or religious places. For air ambulances, the Beechcraft Super King aircraft will be used. The aircraft is used by notable personalities and necessary permission to convert this aircraft into an ambulance has already been taken. However, among all these attractions, the most important feature that is set to resume is the Ahmedabad-Kevadiya seaplane service which connects the riverfront of Sabarmati in Ahmedabad to the Statue of Unity in Kevadiya. According to government officials, these recreational activities will attract investments, along with creating opportunities for people. Officials said that the helicopter joyrides will be available on weekends, with a take-off and landing point near the riverfront. These helicopters can be rented by people on weekends. Through these weekend helicopter rides, families will be able to visit religious places which still do not have facilities of air connectivity. Sources from the state government claim that they have taken necessary approvals from the Airport Authority of India (AAI), along with seeking permission from other central government agencies. It is to be noted that the Ahmedabad-Kevadiya seaplane service was launched earlier as well, in October last year. At that time, sustaining the service became difficult after a point, and the private aviation company which operated it had discontinued the services. However, this time, the services will shuttle between Sabarmati and Kevadiya, with the state civil department being in charge of them. All these air activities are expected to roll out before VGGS 2022 in January.