Another company applies for whirlybird operation

A private company has applied for certification to the Director General of Civil Aviation to engage in domestic, private and charter services. If certified, it would be the country’s eighth such business in operation.

Lakwin Aviation (Pvt) Limited applied for certification earlier this year, a gazette notification published on Friday said. The company is headquartered at the World Trade Centre, Colombo, and is seeking an Air Operator Certificate to engage in domestic, private and charter services. The company’s trade name is mentioned as “Lakwinair” and its directors are Lakshitha Weerasinghe and Sunali Abeygunawardhana Samarasinghe.

An official from the Civil Aviation Department said the company hopes to operate one helicopter. He said several other companies are also flying helicopters for private use and to ferry corporate passengers.

“They don’t fly them to schedules but they do carry out private operations and charter operations, as and when there is a requirement,” the official said. “For instance, when an Arab Prince came here recently, he chartered one company’s whole fleet of helicopters,” he said. Some companies also have fixed wing and float planes. These enterprises do run scheduled flights for general public and corporate customers as well as cater to tourists. “This sector is growing but I don’t know about its commercial viability,” the official said.

The companies currently certified by the Department of Civil Aviation are Millennium Airlines (formally Deccan Aviation Lanka), Cosmos Aviation Services, Air Senok, Saffron Aviation, Daya Aviation, Expo Aviation and Helitours (Sri Lanka Air Force).