One year and seven months on, no designer found for planned helicopter service

Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen has acknowledged that despite government assurances that helicopter services would begin in March 2024, the project remains stalled a year and seven months later, with no designer or operator yet identified to carry out the work.

During Monday’s sitting of the People’s Majlis, MP for North Galolhu constituency Mohamed “Kudoo” Ibrahim questioned the minister about the delay in launching the long-promised helicopter service. In response, Minister Ameen revealed that the Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety Indicator (RFPI) process, which was being developed as part of the service’s preparation, has been halted and legally terminated.

The minister stated that the project will need to be redesigned and reopened for bids through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process, which he expects to begin towards the end of this year. He expressed hope that helicopter services could commence about a year after that process is completed.

The government had announced in January last year that it would seek operators to introduce helicopter services in the Maldives. In May of that year, Minister Ameen stated that the RFPI framework was nearing completion and expected to be finalized by early June. He had also indicated that once the regulatory framework for helicopter operations was published, suitable operators would be identified shortly thereafter.

However, the project has faced continuous delays. The minister previously attributed the hold-up to the Finance Ministry’s slow progress in completing related tasks, though he had maintained at the time that the work was moving forward under the guidance of Attorney General Ahmed Usham.

More than a year later, the promised helicopter service remains grounded, with no framework, no designer and no clear timeline in sight.