Originally Posted by
Bell_ringer
What are the regs in that part of the world wrt night ops?
Do the take off and landing sites need to be approved for night ops else it would need to be operated under IFR?
Not sure about Austria, but I would argue that in your country (South Africa) non-CAT (commercial air transport) helicopter ops can be done from
unlicensed helipads, provided they are equipped with suitable night flying facilities (CAR 91.07.3.2). Further, ambient light must be suitable (CAR 91.07.4.2a).
If the landing site (whether approved or not) is not equipped with adequate night flying facilities and/or where objects and terrain in the vicinity could endanger the operator, then no night flying to or taking off from such landing site is allowed (CAR 139.01.5),
even if the flight itself was operated under IFR.
As flyting has pointed out already, the actual commercial cargo operations was likely to be concluded during daylight conditions. Only the return leg was done after dark. However, one can argue that this empty return leg was done under Part 91 (i.e., General Aviation).
With regards to the night flight, the passenger and the pilot could have agreed that the lift that the pax got on the way down (no pun intended) was a non-revenue flight. So again the operations and flight rules for night ops under Part 91 would be applicable.
If the night VFR flight however is a commercial operation, then in your country further conditions and restrictions with regards to Second-in-Charge, pilot experience, recurrent training, approved and documented operating procedures, and additional instrumentation apply (CAR 127.07.11 and 127.07.20).