DGCA set to overhaul charter flight safety after 2 fatal crashes

New Delhi: Two fatal accidents in less than a month-a Learjet crash in Baramati that killed former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, and the death of all seven people on board an air ambulance in Jharkhand's Chatra district -have finally pushed India's aviation regulator into action on charter flights.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday called all non-scheduled operators (NSOPs) for a high-level meeting and proposed measures which, if enforced, would mark the sharpest tightening of oversight in the sector in years.

At the core of the proposed new framework is a zero-tolerance policy on safety. Charter operators would be required to publicly disclose aircraft age, maintenance history, and pilot experience on their websites. The DGCA is also working on a safety ranking system for all NSOPs, with rankings to be published on its website - a move that could, for the first time, give charter passengers a way to compare operators before booking.


Accountability, long the missing piece in India's aviation safety culture, would now get direct regulatory focus. Senior management and accountable managers will be held personally responsible for systemic lapses. "Safety failures cannot simply be blamed on pilots," the regulator said pointedly.

On the operational side, the DGCA will step up random Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) audits, cross-verify ADS-B data and fuel logs to check for unauthorised flights or falsification of records.

Pilots found violating flight duty time limitations would face licence suspension for up to five years.

The regulator also flagged weather as a recurring blind spot, noting that many accidents trace back to poor judgement rather than unpredictable conditions. Operators must now set up real-time weather monitoring systems and ensure pilots receive stronger training in decision-making under challenging environments.

A Phase 2 safety audit of the remaining NSOPs will begin after Phase 1 is completed in early March. A follow-up workshop is planned once the audits are completed.