According to the Southern Vietnam Helicopter Company, the tour attracted interest with over 300 bookings right after being launched on April 29. However, they were only able to organise five trips with over 50 passengers due to a lack of heliports.

The tour, which is co-organised by the HCM City Tourism Department, the Military Hospital 175, and the Southern Vietnam Helicopter Company, earlier selected heliports at the hospital and Tan Son Nhat Airport for takeoff and landing. A 16-seat AW-189 imported from Italy and 12-seat EC-155B1 imported from France were used to service the tours.

During its pilot period, the VND4.08 million (USD174) 40-minute tour covered some areas including Aeon Mall Tan Phu, Aeon Mall Binh Tan, RMIT University, Phu My and Thu Thiem bridges, the Landmark81 Building, and the Binh Quoi Tourism Site, the company said.

Organisers planned that after the pilot period, the sightseeing helicopter service, the first of its kind in the city, would be launched in short-range flights of 20 to 40 minutes for tourists to see the city centre and the coastal district of Can Gio and mid-range flights lasting for 50 to 80 minutes for visitors to view the city and the Tan Lap Tourism Site in the neighbouring province of Long An.

However, the tour is facing difficulties in finding a suitable heliport. The facilities at Military Hospital 175 were only suitable for serving patients, while the organisers were also facing difficulties in finding a place at the Tan Son Nhat Airport.

According to the organisers, there are over 200 passengers waiting to be served but they have been unable to arrange a new heliport to continue the service.

Source: Dtinews