Safety
India Tightens Charter Safety, but Genav Issues Linger
Focus is on flight-duty times and fatigue
India business aircraft
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation is stepping up air charter safety, with a focus on crew flight duty times and fatigue. © Neelam Mathews/AIN

Roused by two back‑to‑back crashes involving a Bombardier Learjet 45XR and a Beechcraft King Air C90A air ambulance, as well as a decade‑long string of charter and helicopter accidents, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a safety warning to the nonscheduled operator permit (NSOP) segment that signals a deepening pilot‑centric safety crisis. NSOP is the commercial charter arm covering business jets, air ambulances, tourism, and VIP flights in India.

The advisory highlighted systemic weaknesses, SOP violations, inadequate planning, training gaps, corporate pressure, and fatigue affecting pilot judgment. Operators were warned that pilot pressure would trigger regulatory action, with senior company leaders accountable.