Helicopter Seychelles Ltd gone for good from the skies of Seychelles |12 February 2018

• Possibility of staff being absorbed by Zil Air

Helicopter Seychelles Ltd, a company formed in 1992, employing both local and foreign staff like ex-patriot pilots and engineers, has officially announced it has abandoned its third and last effort to enter commercial aviation and it is definitely closing down.

Helicopter Seychelles Ltd which is based at Providence Industrial Estate was the second helicopter company apart from Zil Air which was offering day and night-time tourist transfers, scenic flights and excursions as well as medical evacuation. It was being managed by managing director Shaun Tinkler-Rose. The company has said it is assisting its local staff gain new employment while foreign workers will go back home.

The other local helicopter company ZIl Air, through its executive director Francis Savy, has said there is possibility of absorbing local staff of the defunct, a process Zil Air has done before if there is a need for new recruitment in its human resource capacity, while acknowledging the many challenges that exist in the running of such a business in Seychelles.

The directors of Helicopter Seychelles did not comment on their decision.

“I cannot talk on behalf of Helicopter Seychelles Ltd as I have not been following them that close, but if there are technical staff available which fits in our requirements, definitely. We already have members of staff here who came from Air Seychelles or other organisations. If they (from Helicopter Seychelles) meet the required profiles and what our human resources requirement needs, then definitely,” said Mr Savy.

He added it is not the easiest of business to do today. The operation is very technical, very challenging, it needs lots of resources, both human and financial. And in the operating environment where our costs are quite high and are very far from principal markets were servicing, spare parts come from.

“It makes it really challenging and I must say it is a huge challenge,” he said.

When Helicopter Seychelles was set up some 26 years ago, it was the first such helicopter company in Seychelles. It went into partnership with Zil Air in 2010, but separated the same year resulting in the closing down of Helicopter Seychelles. It resumed business in 2011 but just a few months down the line, one of its helicopters crashed which resulted in the company closing down again. The business tried to be operational again last year but took the final decision to close down last week.

According to the Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, the close down is probably due to regulation demands.

“We do have a policy where we prohibit businessmen from going into operations. Or maybe it’s a commercial decision. On the commercial side of things maybe they felt Zil Air has captured the market and is therefore very difficult for Helicopter Seychelles to surmount that. As to regulations, we do make exceptions,” said Minister Loustau-Lalanne.

Helicopter Seychelles premises is currently empty with just a skeleton staff.