DGCA suspends Char Dham chopper services for remaining season

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has called off charter helicopter services on the Char Dham route for the remainder of the season, which ends on November 16, when the Badrinath temple is set to close its portals.

Earlier, a meeting between DGCA officials, officials with the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) and helicopter operators at 11am on Monday failed to resolve a deadlock over the DCGA’s fresh rule making co-pilots mandatory on all flights on the Char Dham circuit. It was introduced a day after a helicopter returning from Badrinath crashed near Jyotirmath, killing all six people on board.

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Many helicopter operators argued that the two-pilot rule was commercially unviable to implement because of the associated physical modifications to helicopters. Despite the pushback, the DGCA refused to roll back the order.

“The objective (of the rule) was to enable better airspace monitoring with two pilots. However, operators opposed the decision because twin-pilot operations require physical modifications to helicopters, such as installing additional dual controls, and reducing passenger capacity to manage payload limits,” said UCADA chief executive officer Prateek Jain.

“With only seven to eight days remaining in the season, carrying out these modifications requires time and is not commercially viable, according to them,” Jain added.