Helicopter services between Sanjauli and Rampur in Himachal Pradesh will begin on October 21, with flights also operating between Rampur and Reckong Peo, according to a state government spokesperson. The service is intended to improve air connectivity for residents of remote and inaccessible areas.

The helicopter will operate three days a week, on Monday, Friday and Saturday. It will leave Sanjauli at 9:55 am and reach Rampur at 10:30 am, before departing for Reckong Peo at 10:50 am and arriving there at 11:25 am.

On the return journey, the helicopter will leave Reckong Peo at 11:30 am and reach Rampur at 12:05 pm. The Rampur-Sanjauli service will depart at 12:10 pm and arrive at Sanjauli at 12:45 pm, providing an alternative to road travel for people in the region.

The service follows Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s direction to address connectivity difficulties identified during his visit to the Rampur area of Shimla district. Pawan Hans (PHL) has sought approval to start operations on the Shimla-Rampur route under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) UDAN.

Under RCS UDAN 5.1, routes linking Shimla, Rampur, Reckong Peo, Kullu, Manali, Mandi and Chandigarh have been awarded to Heritage Aviation and Pawan Hans. Heritage Aviation operates flights on the Shimla-Reckong Peo, Shimla-Kullu-Shimla and Chandigarh-Mandi via Kullu routes, while Pawan Hans operates helicopter services between Sanjauli and Chandigarh three days a week.

An additional flight runs once a week under the State Regional Connectivity Scheme, with the state government covering 100 per cent of the Viability Gap Funding, amounting to approximately Rs. 3.57 mn a month. The arrangements provide air connectivity between Chandigarh and Shimla on all seven days of the week.