Helicopter tourism a growing nuisance

THE RECENT growth of helicopter tourism from the V&A Waterfront has become unacceptably invasive to local residents along the Atlantic seaboard. Tourism is most welcome, but it needs to be in harmony with the community, and it needs to be environmentally friendly.

Helicopters are extremely noisy, even at a distance, and it does not seem right that a couple of passengers in a helicopter should disturb the peace and quiet of literally thousands of people as they take a sightseeing flip down the coastline. It is not uncommon on a weekend to have three or more helicopters in view at once, with the ongoing throb of rotor blades, one helicopter after the next.

Parties show their true colours on Zille and Zuma

WASN’T Helen Zille pilloried by all parties for saying the Cape colonialists actually had some notable achievements?

Now you get William SaundersonMeyer standing up for (Jacob) Zuma and saying the same thing about him – “He did some good”!

It’s not that Zille and SandersonMeyer are wrong; they aren’t, but political parties are hypocrites.

Another consideration is the huge amounts of fuel these engines must consume – for a very limited number of passengers. It is disappointing that the otherwise pro-environment V&A promotes this environmentally unfriendly practice.

The popular V&A tourist cruise boats, on the other hand, are a welcome and lovely sight off the promenade. A solution may be to oblige these helicopters to fly directly out to sea from the breakwater heliport, via the shipping buoys, and thereafter keep that distance offshore as they travel the length of the densely populated Atlantic seaboard.