Pawan Hans Limited

Pawan Hans Limited is a public sector helicopter company owned by the Government of India under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, with oil company ONGC holding a 49 percent stake. It was incorporated in October 1985 as the Helicopter Corporation of India, started flying in November 1985 and took its current name in 1986. Its corporate headquarters is in Sector 1, Noida.

The company's largest line of work is offshore support for ONGC and other energy companies. It also flies charter and government transport, pilgrimage services to sites such as Kedarnath, Amarnath and Vaishno Devi, regional connectivity routes under the UDAN scheme, and emergency medical and rescue missions. Charter flights can be booked online.

Its fleet is made up of helicopters of several types, including Bell 206 and 407, AS350 B3, Dauphin AS365, and Mil Mi-17 helicopters. It also operates HAL Dhruv helicopters. Published fleet totals range from the low 40s to the mid 40s depending on the date of the source.

Main operating hubs are Juhu Aerodrome in Mumbai and Rohini Heliport in Delhi, and the company says it has more than 19 operating bases. It reports over one million flight hours. For private flyers it is mainly relevant for helicopter charter and pilgrimage or heli-tourism flights within India.