India

DGCA Halts Char Dham Helicopter Services for Season’s Remainder

By Neha LM Tripathi, Amit Bathla

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has suspended charter helicopter services on the Char Dham route for the rest of the season, which ends on November 16 when the Badrinath temple will close. The decision follows a dispute over a new DGCA rule that requires co‑pilots on every flight on the Char Dham circuit. The rule was introduced after a helicopter returning from Badrinath crashed near Jyotirmath, killing all six people on board. Operators said the two‑pilot requirement would be commercially unviable because it would require physical modifications to helicopters, such as installing additional dual controls and reducing passenger capacity to meet payload limits. A meeting between DGCA officials, the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority and helicopter operators held at 11 a.m. on Monday failed to resolve the deadlock. UCADA chief executive officer Prateek Jain explained that the objective of the rule was to improve airspace monitoring with two pilots, but operators opposed it because the required modifications could not be completed in the remaining seven to eight days of the season and would not be commercially viable. The DGCA has refused to roll back the order.