The Indian aviation regulator conducted special safety audits of 29 non-scheduled operators (NSOPs), including private jet and helicopter companies, in February and March this year to ensure safe operations, the government informed Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has a systematic safety monitoring mechanism to monitor compliance with aviation rules and civil aviation requirements by aircraft and airport operators, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha MP Rajinder Gupta.
NSOPs provide on-demand charter flights for passengers and cargo that do not follow a published or fixed schedule.
The special safety audits come in the wake of the January 28 plane crash in Baramati, Maharashtra, that killed the state’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others. The incident led to a series of inspections of both the country’s uncontrolled airports and NSOPs. The DGCA has also issued a new set of rules for VIP and election flying.
“The safety monitoring process includes regulatory audits, night monitoring, ramp inspections, spot checks and special audits. The DGCA publishes the Annual Surveillance Plan (ASP) on its website. The results of audits, monitoring and random checks are followed up with the relevant operators for compliance. Furthermore, compliance of the actions taken by the operator is verified during the next audit/monitoring. In case of any violations/non-compliance with regulations detected during the audit/monitoring, enforcement Enforcement action including financial fine by the DGCA Minister added.
He added that the operator’s compliance was verified during subsequent audits and monitoring. As part of ongoing safety oversight.
The government also shared data on accidents involving non-scheduled operators, including private aircraft and helicopters, over the past five years. The ministry said there were two such incidents in 2021, three in 2022, four in 2023, three in 2024, and five in 2025.
