This is a list of helicopter airlines. These are notableairlines which provide transport for passengers or cargo, or both, with fleets that comprise a significant proportion of helicopters.
This is a list of helicopter airlines. These are notableairlines which provide transport for passengers or cargo, or both, with fleets that comprise a significant proportion of helicopters.
| Company name | Headquarters | Country | Other regions serviced | Scheduled passenger flights? | Subsidiaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi Aviation | Abu Dhabi | UAE | Royal Jet, Maximus Air, ADA Training Center, AgustaWestland Aviation Services, ADA International Real Estate and ADA Millennium. | ||
| Air Dynasty | Kathmandu | Nepal | |||
| Air Greenland | Nuussuaq | Denmark (Greenland) | Yes | ||
| Air Harrods | London | United Kingdom | |||
| Air-Transport Europe | Poprad | Slovakia | |||
| Altitude Air | Kathmandu | Nepal | |||
| Atlantic Airways | Vágar | Denmark (Faroe Islands) | Yes | ||
| Babcock Mission Critical Services | London | United Kingdom | Africa, Australia, North America, Scandinavia | ||
| Blade Urban Air Mobility | New York City | United States | |||
| Bristow Helicopters | Houston | United States | Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, South America | ||
| British International Helicopters | Coventry | United Kingdom | Falkland Islands | ||
| CHC Helicopter | Richmond | Canada | Africa, Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom | ||
| Columbia Helicopters | Aurora | United States | |||
| Cougar Helicopters | St. John's | Canada | |||
| DAP Helicópteros | Punta Arenas | Chile | Yes | ||
| Fishtail Air | Kathmandu | Nepal | |||
| Global Vectra Helicorp | Mumbai | India | |||
| Gulf Helicopters | Doha | Qatar | India, Middle East, North Africa | ||
| Heli Air | Wellesbourne | United Kingdom | |||
| Heli Air Monaco | Fontvieille | Monaco | France, Italy, Switzerland | Yes | |
| Heli Air Services | Sofia | Bulgaria | Afghanistan, Africa | ||
| Heli Holland | Emmen | Netherlands | |||
| Heliandes | Medellin | Colombia | |||
| Helicol | Bogotá | Colombia | |||
| Helicópteros de Guatemala | Guatemala City | Guatemala | |||
| Helicópteros del Sureste | Mutxamel | Spain | Yes | ||
| Helijet | Vancouver | Canada | Yes | ||
| Heliswiss | Bern | Switzerland | |||
| Helitrans | Stjørdal | Norway | |||
| Hélity | Ceuta | Spain | Gibraltar, Morocco | ||
| HNZ Group | Les Cèdres | Canada | Afghanistan, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, United States | ||
| Kazaviaspas | Astana | Kazakhstan | |||
| Lufttransport | Tromsø | Norway | Sweden | Yes | |
| Monacair | Monaco | Monaco | France | Yes | |
| Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen | Ostend | Belgium | |||
| OSS Air Management | India | ||||
| Pawan Hans | New Delhi | India | Yes | ||
| Petroleum Air Services | Cairo | Egypt | |||
| Petroleum Helicopters International | Lafayette | United States | Antarctic | ||
| Polar Airlines | Yakutsk | Russia | Yes | ||
| Shree Airlines | Kathmandu | Nepal | |||
| Silkway Helicopter Services | Baku | Azerbaijan | |||
| Simrik Air | Kathmandu | Nepal | |||
| Sky Service | Almaty | Kazakhstan | |||
| Sky Shuttle Helicopters | Macau | Macau | China, Hong Kong | Yes | |
| Summit Helicopters | Yellowknife | Canada | Indonesia, United Kingdom | ||
| Toho Air Service | Tokyo | Japan | Yes | ||
| UTair Aviation | Khanty-Mansiysk | Russia | Yes | ||
| Various others, see separate article . | Russia | Yes for some | |||
| Vietnam Helicopter Corporation | Hanoi | Vietnam | Southeast Asia |
Some companies focus solely on winning ongoing contracts in a single industry sector, such as oil & gas. Other companies cater to a wider range of clients by offering one-off charter flights on an ad hoc basis. Services can include:
These are companies which do not qualify as airlines, strictly speaking, because they specialise in services other than the transport of passengers and cargo.
| Company name | Headquarter country | Principal services | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Methods | United States | Medical evacuation, tourism | Active |
| Carson Helicopters | United States | Aerial lift, firefighting | Active |
| Croman Corporation | United States | Agriculture, forestry, industrial | Active |
| Erickson | United States | Aerial cranes, firefighting, forestry, industrial | Active |
| Evergreen International Aviation | United States | Agriculture, firefighting, forestry, industrial, military | Defunct |
| Global Traffic Network | United States | Traffic reporting | Active |
| Helog | Germany | Training | Active |
| Roberts Aircraft | United States | Agriculture, mapping | Active |
| Swanson Group Aviation | United States | Aerial cranes, firefighting, heli-logging, mapping | Active |
Helicopters and other rotorcraft | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helicopters |
|  | ||||
| Other rotorcraft |
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| Hazards | ||||||
| Related | ||||||
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other purposes. However, for statistical purposes, ICAO uses a definition of general aviation which includes aerial work.
Aberdeen International Airport is an international airport, located in the Dyce suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, approximately 5 nautical miles northwest of Aberdeen city centre. As of 2023, 1.9 million people used the airport.
Helijet International is a helicopter airline and charter service based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Its scheduled passenger helicopter airline services operates flights from heliports at Vancouver International Airport (YVR), downtown Vancouver, downtown Nanaimo and downtown Victoria. It also operates a charter division serving the film, television, aerial tour, industrial and general helicopter and corporate jet charter markets, as well as helicopter and jet air ambulance services. Its head office and main hangar is Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
CHC Helicopter is a Texas-based helicopter services company.
Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose.
PT. Airfast Indonesia is an air carrier based in Tangerang, Indonesia in Greater Jakarta. It specialises in contract operations, aviation management services and charter passenger and cargo services to the oil, mining and construction industries in Indonesia and other countries in the area. It is also involved in aerial mapping, survey flights, heli-logging and medical evacuation services. Its main base is Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta. Airfast Indonesia is listed in Category 1 by Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority for airline safety quality. In 2009 Airfast Indonesia was one of five airlines taken off a blacklist of airlines not allowed in European airspace due to safety concerns.
Indonesia Air Transport is an airline and aviation company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It provides a wide range of aviation services to both the on and offshore oil, gas and mining industries within Indonesia and South-east Asia. Its main base is Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport, Jakarta. The company also maintain a secondary hub for its oil & gas industry clients in Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Airport, East Kalimantan, and operates limited scheduled services from Ngurah Rai International Airport on the island of Bali to the islands of Lombok and Flores. Indonesia Air Transport is listed in category 1 by Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority for airline safety quality. The Company provides air passenger and cargo transportation, aircraft hiring and leasing services, aircraft repairs, and training facilities. IAT also supplies aviation technical equipment and spare parts. It operates various types of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
PAL Airlines is a Canadian regional airline with headquarters at St. John's International Airport in St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. PAL operates scheduled passenger, cargo, air ambulance and charter services. PAL is the commercial airline arm of the PAL Group of Companies. In addition to its head office, it also has bases in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and Montreal, Quebec. PAL is the second largest regional airline operator in Eastern Canada next to Jazz Aviation.
Gazpromavia is an airline based in Moscow, Russia. It operates passenger and cargo charters, mainly in support of the oil and gas industry. It also operates regular domestic flights from Moscow and international charter passenger and cargo services.
Humberside Airport is an international airport at Kirmington in the Borough of North Lincolnshire, England, 10 NM from three large settlements: Grimsby (east), Hull (north) and Scunthorpe (west), on the A18, the latter two places reached by longer roads, in the case of Hull via the UK's longest bridge that crosses the Humber Estuary. It was owned by Manchester Airports Group from 1999 until 1 August 2012, when it was sold to the Eastern Group of companies. North Lincolnshire Council retains a minority of shares in the Airport.
Abu Dhabi Aviation Co. is an airline based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It serves oil-fields and economic facilities in the United Arab Emirates and other Arab states. Its main base is Zayed International Airport. Abu Dhabi Aviation is the largest commercial helicopter operator in the Middle East, operating and owning 58 aircraft in total comprising 51 helicopters., and 7 fixed-wing aircraft (DHC-8). The company employs over 1000 personnel, including 130 pilots and 250 engineers. The bulk of the company's business activity is in support of Abu Dhabi offshore oil and engineering and construction companies. Other business activities include medical evacuation, aerial construction, survey, photography, charter, and providing VVIP passenger transportation services. All aerial spraying of crops in the UAE and the majority of aerial spraying in Oman is carried out by ADA.
Sabah Air Aviation Sdn. Bhd. is a non-scheduled airline with its main base in the Sabah Air Building in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Acadian Ambulance is an employee-owner private ambulance service that covers most of the state of Louisiana, a large portion of Texas, two counties in Tennessee, and one county in Mississippi. In 1995 it was recognized as the largest privately owned ambulance service in the United States. Today the company responds to emergency and non-emergency calls in Louisiana; Southeast, Central, and North Texas; Jackson County, Mississippi; Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee.
Sultan Ismail Petra Airport is an airport that operates in Kota Bharu, a city in the state of Kelantan in Malaysia. The airport is named after Ismail Petra of Kelantan, the 28th Sultan of Kelantan, who ruled from 1979 to 2010. It is currently undergoing expansion through multiple phases to be international airport, with phase 1 being already completed and opened on 1 May 2024.
Bristow Helicopters Limited is a British civil helicopter operator originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, which is currently a part of the U.S.-based Bristow Group which in turn has its corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas, U.S. In 2020, Bristow Group was merged with Era Helicopters, a large U.S.-based commercial helicopter operator that was previously a division of Era Aviation, with the two companies then continuing to use the Bristow name.
The Airbus Helicopters H225 is a long-range passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter as the next generation of the civilian Super Puma family. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 24 passengers along with two crew and a cabin attendant, dependent on customer configuration. The helicopter is marketed for offshore support and VIP passenger transport duties, as well as public service missions.
The history of aviation in Canada began with the first manned flight in a balloon at Saint John, New Brunswick in 1840. The development of the aviation industry in Canada was shaped by the interplay of Canadian national ambitions, national and international politics, economics, and technology. Experimental aviation started in Canada with the test flights of Bell's Silver Dart in 1909, following the epochal flight of the Wright Brothers in 1903. The experimental phase gave way to use of aircraft in warfare. Many Canadians served in the British Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during the First World War.
Mørefly A/S was an airline and general aviation company which operated between 1955 and 1995. Based in Ålesund and later Giske, Norway, it was involved in a wide range of operations, the most dominant being air ambulance services and helicopter services. Mørefly was based at Ålesund Airport, Sørneset until 1979 and thereafter at Ålesund Airport, Vigra. During its peak in the mid 1990s it had 150 employees and annual revenue of 250 million Norwegian krone (NOK).
Vietnam Helicopters (VNH), formally the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation, also known by its military designation Corps 18, is a transportation business owned by the Vietnam Ministry of National Defense. It operates helicopters to transport cargo, train pilots and export/import devices in the aviation industry as well as providing aircraft maintenance while offering commercial services such as tourist transportation. Being a military-associated organization, VNH also operates state-sponsored flights serving civil defense purposes including medical evacuation and search-rescue missions.
Gummels Heliport Paramaribo, is the first dedicated Heliport built in Suriname in 2015 at the Gummelsweg in the neighborhood of Kwatta near the city of Paramaribo, Suriname. Privately owned and used by the Gummels family who also own the Gum Air airline and the crop dust service Surinam Sky Farmers. The heliport is mainly used for helicopter charters and primarily for offshore development activities. At the opening of the heliport in 2015 one hangar was built, but this was soon expanded by a second hangar at the heliport in 2017. By 2022 due to the expanding operations the addition of two more hangars was accomplished. With the increasing number of flights, reaching a peak of approximately 20 heli flights in a single day with 5 helicopters, limitations on the existing apron space were encountered at the heliport. During this period the idea of developing an airport from the small gravel crop dusters airstrip at Kwatta took root.
