On March 5, 2018 India’s first helitaxi service took off in Bengaluru between Kemegowda International Airport (KIA) and Electronics City. The journey was completed in less than 15 minutes.
Offered by KIA in partnership between Thumby Aviation Pvt. Ltd., the service is an attempt to cut short the duration of time taken to travel to the city from the international airport, which could be 90 minutes to three hours by taxi, depending on traffic congestion.
The accommodation capacity of the Bell 407 helicopter used for the service is six passengers at a time. The helitaxi service can be availed by booking a seat through an app. Once passengers exit the arrival lounge, the company arranges vehicle to ferry passengers to its facility in the KIA premises and for those heading to KIA, the company will drop passengers at the departure lounge. The helicopter will land in Thumby’s facility at Electronics City.