Char Dham helicopter operators threaten to halt flights over 2-pilot rule

Helicopter operators running Char Dham charter flights in Uttarakhand have threatened to suspend services from Monday (2 November), after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) made it mandatory for every flight to carry two pilots. Eleven operators said the two-pilot rule would make their services financially unviable.

The rule follows the crash of a helicopter soon after take-off from Badrinath on 30 October, near Joshimath in Chamoli district. All six people on board, the pilot and five passengers, were killed. As The Indian Idiot reported, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is probing the crash.

After an urgent meeting with operators on Saturday, the DGCA issued written instructions that all Char Dham charter flights must fly with two pilots from the first take-off on Monday, and the co-pilot must also be qualified to fly in hilly terrain. Crews must get destination and en route clearance from the control room at Sahastradhara before every leg, and file a pilot report on weather and route conditions after landing at each helipad, Hindustan Times reported.

The operators objected in a letter dated 31 October to DGCA chief Vir Vikram Yadav. “After due consideration and mutual consultation, all operators collectively express their inability to accept the mandatory twin-pilot requirement in its present form,” the letter said.

“The mandatory deployment of two pilots on every charter sortie will substantially increase operating costs, crew requirements, accommodation and logistical expenses, and overall operational commitments,” it said. “Given the existing commercial structure, prevailing charter rates and limited operational margins, these additional costs cannot be reasonably absorbed by the operators. Nor is it commercially feasible to pass on the entire additional burden to customers.”

The operators said they would suspend Char Dham charter flights from 2 November until the authorities review the rule and reach a “mutually workable solution” with them. They asked the DGCA and the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) to hold urgent talks on an alternative framework. The letter was signed by representatives of 11 companies, including Himalayan Heli Services, Pilgrimage Aviation, Heritage Aviation and United Helicharters, The Indian Express reported.

Some operators, speaking to The Hindu on condition of anonymity, said repeated complaints about drones and paragliding near flight routes had gone unheeded. UCADA CEO Prateek Jain told the paper that the possibility of a drone hitting the helicopter was part of the investigation, and that police and district administrations had been asked not to allow drones near temples or along helicopter routes. “We have addressed the concerns regarding drones and paragliding raised by the operators and have chalked out very specific routes for the choppers to fly,” he said.