Rotorcraft
French lobby urges more flexibility for helicopters
Industry lobbying group the Union Française de l’Hélicoptère (UFH) is stepping up its efforts to improve public acceptance of helicopter operations in Fran

Industry lobbying group the Union Française de l’Hélicoptère (UFH) is stepping up its efforts to improve public acceptance of helicopter operations in France. During a conference last month jointly organized by the group and the DGAC–the French civil aviation authority–the groups emphasized that France leaves little room for helicopters (a paradoxical situation in a country that houses leading manufacturers of civil helicopters and turboshaft engines Eurocopter and Turbomeca) and urged more widespread acceptance of rotorcraft.

The conference, titled “Helicopter in France, debates for a sustainable and civic development,” drew about 300 attendees at the DGAC’s headquarters beside the Paris heliport. At that facility and elsewhere in the country, the UFH is meeting resistance to helicopters from ecologists and local resident associations.

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