Helipad & Heliport Solutions

A helipad project fails or succeeds long before the first light fitting is installed. The obstacle environment, the approach and departure paths, and the load the structure has to carry are decided at design stage, and a mistake there cannot be fixed with better equipment later. This is why Northlane Solutions treats helipad and heliport work as one continuous scope rather than a sequence of separate purchases.

Design through civil works

Every project starts from the site itself: a hospital rooftop, a ground level compound pad, an oil and gas platform, or an offshore helideck. Rooftop and elevated pads carry structural load and wind loading questions that a ground pad does not. Offshore and platform helidecks are governed by CAP 437, which sets the deck marking, lighting and net requirements specific to marine operations. NLS designs to the standard the site actually calls for rather than applying one template everywhere, then carries the civil works, whether that is a new concrete pad, a steel elevated structure, or reinforcement of an existing rooftop.

Marking, lighting and firefighting

Touchdown and lift off area (TLOF) markings, the H marking, perimeter lighting and floodlighting follow ICAO Annex 14 Volume II and the FAA's AC 150/5390-2 heliport design guidance, with the photometrics and layout matched to whichever authority governs the specific site. Firefighting provision is sized to the category of helicopter the pad is designed to receive, following NFPA 418 for heliport fire protection, and NLS supplies and installs the foam or dry chemical systems that category requires alongside the lighting and beacon package.

GACA approval and ongoing operation

A helipad in Saudi Arabia does not go live on completion of construction. It needs approval from the General Authority of Civil Aviation, and NLS supports operators through that process: preparing the technical file, coordinating the site inspection, and closing out any findings before the pad is cleared for use. Once operational, NLS maintains what it installs, covering lighting, beacons, wind indicators and firefighting equipment on a scheduled basis so the pad stays within its approved condition rather than drifting out of compliance between inspections.

Where this applies

Hospital helipads sit at the center of this work, since medevac access depends on the pad being available and compliant at all times. NLS also delivers ground level heliports for corporate and government compounds and supports offshore helideck projects, applying the marine specific requirements of CAP 437 where the deck sits on a platform rather than the ground. One point of contact carries the project from the first design drawing through the approval file to the maintenance contract that follows.