Just like the past few years, visitors to the Surajkund mela are taking helicopter rides and enjoying the aerial view of the fair and its surrounding areas.
The service is being offered by private helicopter operator Heritage Aviations Private Limited.
The helicopter ride has been an integral part of the annual event, held at Faridabad, for the past four to five years.
Earlier, the service was offered by the State-run helicopter operator Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited.
The cost of one ride is Rs.2,500 per person this year against last year’s ticket cost of Rs.2,000 per person.
Giving further details about the ticket pricing, Heritage Aviations Private Limited deputy general manager Peeush Mathur said is ride free for kids aged below two years.
“We are also contemplating offering discounts to certain categories of passengers like the differently-abled and the students. A decision will be taken soon.
There are four-five ticket counters at the mela and the tickets for the ride will soon be available at all the counters,” said Mr. Mathur.
The tickets for the helicopter ride can be booked at the ticket counter no. 1, at the helipad or the official mela website.
The helicopter ride, which started from Wednesday after the operator got requisite permission from the Air Traffic Control, saw a dull response.
However, Thursday saw more people opting for a ride.
“The response was dull on the first day, but it improved marginally the second day. We are advertising on the Facebook page of Haryana Tourism and also making regular announcements at the mela. We even fly the helicopter with the staff onboard at low altitude to make people aware about it.
We hope the response will improve, and more and more people will take the ride during the weekend. The response to helicopter ride was good last year. We hope it will be better this time,” added Mr. Mathur.
Flying at a varying altitude of 100-500 feet above the ground, the timings of the helicopter ride vary from six to eight minutes and eight to 10 minutes during rush and free hours respectively.
Mr. Mathur told The Hindu that the passengers enjoyed the rides, especially when the helicopter takes sharp turns over the mela.
