The revelation comes after Oil and Gas People were welcomed to NHV’s brand new Heliport in Dyce and given an exclusive tour of the premises by Aberdeen Base Manager Jamie John.

Belgian based NHV are not new players to the aviation industry, they have been flying helicopters since 1997 and have bases in 11 countries and conduct over 20,000 flights per year. Jamie explained how the culmination of Belgian based NHV’s 5-year project offers an improved and reduced-cost transport service for offshore workers, but advises that the project was far from simple.

With land around Dyce airport being highly sought after, securing a suitable location for the heliport was by far the biggest challenge that faced the organisation. After lengthy negotiations however, NHV managed to secure premises from Reel Group in Dyce’s Kirkton Drive and then spent £15 million adapting the site and facilities to give them a top of range Heliport customised to suit their operations.

Having to build the facilities and extend it onto the existing airport infrastructure was a gigantic task, but the benefits are already being seen as their prime location within the airport grounds allows most helicopter flights to mobilise within minutes of rotor start up, further reducing costs to the customer who are charged from rotor start up.

NHV were proud to state that their entire fleet of Airbus H175s were brand new and benefited from the latest technology, enabling the aircraft to fly faster and safer than ever before.

There have also been significant improvements to passenger comfort, with the addition of aircraft style seating, an inflight mp3 system and significant noise reduction enabling passengers to travel with single ear protection – double ear protection is still provided on an optional basis.

Jamie John described the comfort on-board the new fleet of helicopters as “The closest thing in a helicopter to a fixed wing”.