Uttarakhand has taken significant steps to enhance safety measures for the upcoming Char Dham Yatra, following five helicopter accidents within 40 days last year. Flight operations will be limited, and weather experts will be deployed to command centres. A minimum of 1,500 flying hours, including 750 hours in mountainous terrain, have been made mandatory for pilots. Companies involved in accidents last year have been barred from operations, and a fresh tender process was conducted to replace them.
Seven people were killed in a helicopter crash in June 2025, raising concerns over flight safety. To address these concerns, command centres will be fully operational at Sersi and Sahastradhara, with two temporary air traffic control units also being made operational. Thirty-three cameras will be installed at helipads and critical locations to provide real-time updates, including weather conditions.
Automated Weather Observing Systems are being installed, and additional very high frequency communication systems will be used. Slope correction work is being undertaken at Kedarnath, and helipad expansion is in progress at Badrinath. Designated flight routes are being published, and marker balloons will be installed on high-tension power lines to improve visibility.
Eight companies have been selected through a fresh tender process, and operators whose helicopters were involved in accidents in the past two years have not been allowed to participate. No pilot will be allowed to operate without terrain familiarisation in the Kedarnath valley, and operators have been directed to keep an additional helicopter on standby.
