The London Heliport is celebrating its 65th birthday this month. It is about to undertake works to improve its FATO (final approach and take off) with new lighting and safety netting. Fresh fuel tanks are also in the pipeline.

Heliport manager Matthew Rice says: “Things are picking up; they are not quite at 2019 numbers just yet, we are seeing a slow recovery post Covid. Weather plays a massive factor in our business and the helicopter industry. On paper we can look like we’re going to have a good month but then the weather can massively affect our numbers and how we do. But from the industry itself it seems things are coming back, getting better, and people are ordering new helicopters, which is always good. There has been an upturn in numbers from what I’ve heard from our contacts; they have new deliveries coming in this year and next.

“From a heliport perspective we are about to do works to our FATO where we are getting new lighting and safety netting around it, and we’re looking to get a new fuel installation. Our existing tanks are underground and at end of life. I’m pretty sure they're the same tanks that were installed in 1959 when the heliport opened. Things have been refurbished as time goes by but I assume it was in the same location. So we’ve had to look at another solution.

“Having another underground tank right next to the Thames is not viable; it’s probably not the right approach and is probably not going to get signed off, so we’ve had to look at other options and we’ve gone for an overground option that should be here by the end of this year or start of next year. So things are looking good and going well.”

The main bread and butter for Rice is the AW109, and there has been an increase in 139s. The team sees a lot of new Airbus aircraft come in such as the H145, the 135s, a couple of 130s and the 125.

“We still see the old twin Squirrels from time to time,” Rice continues. “So it’s a mixed bag. But day to day the main ones are the 109. London Air Ambulance has got two brand new H135s coming in Q3 of this year so we are hoping to do some PR with them. They go from the top of Royal London and we take them in and give them somewhere to sit and if they ever need fuel.

“We’re steady as it goes. People know us but I would like us to be more known. Helicopters are not for everyone. We’ve got the big events season coming up around June time with Ascot, Glastonbury, Isle of Wight Festival and Silverstone for the Grand Prix, which is our busiest day. We’re pretty much at capacity for the Sunday. We’re not far off selling out our maximum allowed hours for that day.

“People are wanting to be net zero and carbon zero so we are losing out a bit on corporate events but it hasn’t put everybody off.”