Centre to set up more ATC systems to prevent air mishaps in Himalayan states

Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said on Saturday that Uttarakhand and other Himalayan states will have more air traffic control systems (ATCS) to prevent helicopter mishaps in the region.

He informed that a “world-class study” is being carried out by the Centre to hammer out better ways to ensure air safety in the helicopter services that was marred in Uttarakhand’s 2025 chardham pilgrimage.

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“Air safety and helicopter operations in Uttarakhand and other Himalayan regions are very difficult owing to weather conditions and harsh terrains. We have received suggestions to set up more ATC Systems in the Himalayas. Setting up ATC Systems in this region is also challenging due to harsh terrains. However we want that chardham pilgrimage routes in the state should have more ATCS controlled areas. For this we have already started the works” said Naidu after inaugurating the first Ministers’ Conference on Civil Aviation (Northern Region) in Dehradun.

The Union Civil Aviation Ministry will have five such regional conclaves in different states to increase air connectivity in the country under its Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) in the coming days.

The Union minister added that the Centre has embarked upon world-class studies on global  infrastructural facilities available for preventing air crashes in the hill areas. According to him, the study is being conducted to find better air safety regulatory measures for the Himalayan regions in India as well.

“If there are other requirements like increasing pilots’ strength or changes in frequency of helicopter operation, Uttarakhand Civil Avaition Development Authority (UCADA) and Union Ministry of Civil Aviation are having detailed discussions on these topic. We will be able to take better air safety measures for improving helicopter services by September when it will be resumed on chardham routes. People from across the world come here. Their safety is our responsibility and we will move forward with it with no compromise attitude.”

It may be noted here that helicopter services in Uttarakhand’s Chardham Pilgrimage 2025 was marred by frequent mishaps, including two major crashes leading more than deaths of the pilgrims within 40 days of its start. This forced the Central and the state governments to suspend helicopter services in the ongoing Chardham Yatra till the month of September.

Naidu further informed that 625 RCS routes have been connected under the UDAN scheme across the country in the last nine years and over 1.53 crore passengers have benefited from this scheme. He added that a modified UDAN Scheme is in pipeline to take this benefit to 4 crore more passengers in the next 10 years. The renewed scheme will connect 120 more destinations with domestic air service networks in the country.

India has become a country with the largest aviation services network in the third world in the last 10 years. The first Conference of Ministers for Civil Aviation (Northern Region) being held here will have exhaustive deliberations to strengthen air services  in the states of North India. Delegates will also deliberate over challenges faced by them and measures to tackle them with the help of centre” said Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.