Layang-Layang Aerospace expects its entire fleet to be fully booked come election time.
Layang-Layang Helicopter Academy director Eric Lee (middle) with ‘graduates’ from MMEA.
KOTA KINABALU: A regional charter airline here is gearing up for the 14th general election (GE14), with all its aircraft expected to be booked during the period.
Layang-Layang Aerospace (LLA), which calls itself East Malaysia’s leading private sector fixed and rotary-wing aviation operator, is making preparations to lease out its entire fleet of 14 helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft during that period.
Layang-Layang Helicopter Academy director Eric Lee said they have been “getting a lot of enquiries”, including from the Election Commission (EC), although no booking has been received.
“They (EC) asked us how many (aircraft) we have to support them. We have sent our proposals but they have not come back to us yet,” he said.
“But I’m sure when Parliament dissolves, we will get the bookings quickly,” he told reporters at a graduation ceremony for Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) personnel.
He added that several political parties and even Sabah Air, another commercial aviation company in the state, have been asking about LLA’s services.
Lee dismissed an online news report that all of LLA’s helicopters have been booked by the EC, pointing out it is not possible for its helicopter academy to rent out aircraft under aviation laws.
The news report quoted Layang-Layang Helicopter Academy registrar and administrator Thiruchelvam Therri as saying the EC has booked 10 of its aircraft for GE14.
Lee said the helicopter academy, which has three choppers and two fixed-wing aircraft, could not use its training aircraft for commercial purposes unless there was no other solution.
“When the need arises, then we can look at that but we will need to obtain special approval from the transport ministry,” he said.
He also said LLA was making preparations to rent aircraft from other aviation companies if there was an overwhelming demand for its services.
“In the 2013 general election, we chartered out 27 aircraft. We probably have to do that again this time around,” he said, adding they expected enquiries from Sarawak for the election as well.
Helicopters are the only means for election officials to move ballot boxes and to travel to remote polling stations in Sabah and Sarawak, the two biggest states in the country, because of poor or non-existent land communications.
At the graduation ceremony, four MMEA personnel received their wings after completing their training with the helicopter academy.
This is the first batch of MMEA personnel trained by the academy.
The MMEA personnel started from scratch without any flying experience on July 16, 2016 and now they have earned their stripes to be part of the MMEA wing division, which will undertake search and rescue operations and aerial surveillance.
Lee also said the helicopter academy was poised to provide training for both helicopter and fixed wing aircraft in Ipoh.
“We will expand our training campus to Peninsular Malaysia due to limited land here for hangarage to accommodate the increase of training aircraft,” he said.
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