Helicopter services to Kedarnath Dham have been suspended for the monsoon season, with all six operating heli companies returning from Kedargati with their seven helicopters on Sunday. The second phase of the Char Dham Yatra, marked by erratic weather and tragic mishaps, has now come to an end. The services will resume in September once the monsoon subsides.
This year, the Kedarnath Yatra began on May 2, with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) permitting eight heli companies to operate nine helicopters. However, the first phase has been tumultuous for the operators. From the opening of the shrine till June 21, over 13,300 tickets were cancelled, resulting in losses exceeding ₹8.65 crore for the companies.
Early disruptions from May 2 to 16 were attributed to bad weather and increased geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, leading to the cancellation of 1,638 tickets.
Major incidents during the first phase
On June 7, a helicopter operated by Crystal Company was forced to make an emergency landing on the Rudraprayag-Gaurikund highway shortly after take-off from Badasu helipad. Following this incident, the DGCA conducted inspections of all heli company offices and imposed a new shuttle-based system, which led to controlled flight operations and the cancellation of hundreds of tickets each day.
On June 15, tragedy struck when an Aryan Aviation helicopter crashed in Gauri Mai Khark while en route from Kedarnath to Guptkashi, killing all seven people on board, including the pilot. The accident was attributed to adverse weather conditions.
Two helicopters from Trans Bharat, which had taken off from separate helipads at the time, returned to base and alerted authorities about the missing Aryan chopper. Following the crash, the DGCA suspended heli operations for two days and later revoked the licenses of the two Trans Bharat pilots for six months for flying in unsafe weather. Aryan Aviation also came under scrutiny, with the Revenue Department filing a case against the company’s manager after detailed questioning.
Further compounding the disruption, flights were grounded between June 17 and 21 due to persistent bad weather, causing major inconvenience to pilgrims.
Heli services are now scheduled to resume in the third phase of the Yatra post-monsoon, likely in September.
