Day after chopper crash, Uttarakhand government to resume helicopter services from June 17

In this image via @uksdrf on X, NDRF and SDRF personnel at the spot after a helicopter crashed near the Kedarnath shrine, in Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, on June 15, 2025.

A day after seven people, including a two-year-old child and the pilot, were killed in a helicopter crash in Kedarnath valley, the Uttarakhand government decided to resume chopper service for the Char Dham yatra from Tuesday (June 17, 2025).

Sonika, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA), announced the resumption of helicopter services on Monday (Jun e 16, 2025) evening.

The official said that helicopter services will only run if the weather conditions will be favourable. Also, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is going to keep a close watch on all the shuttle services.

The chopper services were suspended on Sunday after the helicopter, ferrying pilgrims to Kedarnath temple crashed near Guptkashi during the early hours on Sunday. Among the dead were the pilot who recently became a father of twins, a couple from Maharashtra who were travelling with their two-year-old girl and an elderly woman from Uttar Pradesh who was accompanied by her grand-daughter.

Raising queries

Meanwhile, concerned over the frequent helicopter accidents in the State, social activists have raised a question over the management of the chopper services.

Anoop Nautiyal, founder of the Social Development for Communities Foundation, an NGO working for awareness on social issues in Uttarakhand, in a letter to DGCA, pointed to how the choppers are plying in the State without any air traffic control (ATC), radars or even any real-time weather updates.

“I am a concerned resident of Uttarakhand who is deeply worried about the alarming frequency of helicopter accidents and crashes in our State. Since we have had 5 heli crashes in the past 6 weeks, why can’t you simply put a complete stop on helicopter operations for this year’s Yatra season? This time should be utilised in preparing the much needed infrastructure for aero safety on the Char Dham Yatra route,” Mr. Nautiyal wrote in the letter.

Terming the Kedarnath route as one of the riskiest air corridors in the country, Mr. Nautiyal said that it is a well-known fact that pilots are flying “blind” in this terrain where the weather can change in the blink of an eye an with no infrastructure and it’s suicidal to allow planes to fly in this landscape.

“I hope you, the authorities concerned, will take a decision that is rooted in safety and security and not on the basis of flimsy assurances and formation of yet more committees in the State,” he added.

Published - June 16, 2025 10:37 pm IST