NEW DELHI: The deadlock between chartered flight operators in Uttarakhand and the aviation regulator resulted in cancellation of all the 40 Char Dham trips scheduled on Monday upsetting travel plans of nearly 250 pilgrims. With no breakthrough in the talks held by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the private operators on the new mandatory rule of two pilots per aircraft, the operators have decided to cancel operations for the rest of the season, which winds to a close on November 7.
The aerial pilgrim trip begins at Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun and covers Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. It begins annually either by April last week or May first week and continues till June 25. After shutting down during the rainy season, it restarts by mid-September and continues till the first week of November.
A reputed operator, speaking on behalf of the 13 operators who run these trips told this reporter, “The DGCA held a virtual meet with all of us on Monday. We reiterated what we had communicated to them earlier that it was not possible logistically or financially to operate every helicopter with two pilots. We made it clear that the operators should have been involved in taking any such decision. “
He added, “A collective decision has been taken by all operators to suspend all our Char Dham trips this season. We have already shifted our helicopters from the start point.”
An average of 40 trips are operated per day with six passengers accommodated per aircraft. “We will be cancelling all the trips and reimbursing all the fare to the passengers though we will incur huge losses. The ticket fares of Monday have already been reimbursed. It works out to an average of Rs 2.5 lakh per passenger.” the operator said.
The operators hope to reach some common ground before the start of the next pilgrim season by April 2027, he added.
However, the short trips presently undertaken from the foothills of Kedarnath, which lasts a maximum of ten minutes, would continue. “There are eight players in this sphere. They transport passengers from GuptKashi, Phata or Sirsi to Kedarnath peak and that will happen,” the operator said.
FIP wants Safety committee
The Federation of India Pilots (FIP) has written to the PMO calling for a National Helicopter Safety Review Committee to be set up. “The committee needs to undertake a comprehensive review of helicopter operations in India and submit a report within 90 days,” it said in a communication. It has also called for the publication of helicopter accidents and serious incident reports for the last five years apart from an immediate safety review of all commercial helicopter operators in Uttarakhand.
