Hot air balloon tour of the west coast, demo on March 4.

Mangalore Today News Network

Mar 01, 2017: For the first time in Mangaluru you can hop on to a hot air balloon and get a bird’s eye view of the west coast, along the Arabian Sea.  The first such flight here is set for March 4.

Mangalurean-promoted Deccan Airsports aims to kickstart a new age in aviation in India by empowering and facilitating flying experience to all. SheikAbdul Malik, an aerospace engineer with a Master’s degree from the University of Bristol, England, is the CEO and founder of Airsports, who wants to bring in all airsport activities under one umbrella and to international standards. These include hot air balloons, gliders, sky diving, drones and para-motoring.

The company wants to create a platform to provide people an opportunity to experience the "sky and beyond". In this direction, they have organized a 12-day launch tour in four major cities in three states -- Mangaluru and Bengaluru in Karnataka, Kochi in Kerala, and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. The test run on a tethered flight will allow investors a look into the viability of the project, public the experience and company - case studies, the logistics and wherewithal to prepare the roadmap for the project.


The tour will start with a three-day event at Nehru Maidan at Mangaluru on March 4, two day events at Kochi (March 8), Coimbatore (March 10) and Bengaluru on March 12. "Places like Dubai and Turkey have identified hot spots to launch balloon operations. Here we are looking at multiple ’hotspot’ locations and viable spots for the launch," he said, pointing out that the plan was conceived a year ago.



People were increasingly looking at taking up new and exciting adventure activities in their leisure time, he said, and India has a very large young population who seek thrills and are constantly looking out for novel activities.


The company has already approached the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for a licence and is scouting ’hotspots’ to launch their commercial flights. "We are looking at a September deadline for untethered commercial flight launch, by which time the DGCA approval should also come by," said Malik. The company also has an ongoing survey identifying best locations, economic feasibility/ viability and pricing.


Malik, having lived, studied and worked in the United Kingdom for five years, has gained considerable knowledge and first-hand experience in aviation. This has inspired him to bring his skills and talents to India and place it in the aviation elite team. Hot air balloon flights will be piloted by British commercial pilots, who will arrive at Bengaluru on March 3.


In the UK, the person in command of the balloon must hold a valid private pilot licence issued by the civil aviation authority specifically for ballooning. Malik said he was excited at the prospects since India is the ninth largest civil aviation market in the world, with the potential of becoming the third largest market by 2020. So, be sure to at least watch.