Kedarnath Helicopter Operators 2026: Companies by Helipad

Kedarnath helicopter operators for 2026 are eight companies allotted by the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority to three helipads: two at Guptkashi, four at Phata and two at Sirsi (ETV Bharat, 1 April 2026). Every seat is sold only through IRCTC HeliYatra at UCADA-fixed fares, so the operator does not change the price.

This is a reference page, not a ranking. It lists the eight operators by helipad as they appear on the official portal, explains how UCADA allots them and fixes fares, reconciles the two fare figures quoted for each helipad (one-way before GST versus round-trip including GST), and notes the surcharges the portal now flags. Confirm every line on heliyatra.irctc.co.in before booking; rosters and fares are set per season and can change.

Kedarnath helicopter operators in 2026: the roster

The names below come from the Kedarnath route table on the IRCTC HeliYatra portal as read on 8 October 2026. The count of two, four and two per helipad matches what UCADA announced for the 2026 season, as reported by ETV Bharat on 1 April 2026. Older blog lists and 2025 news reports name other companies; they are not in the 2026 table and are not listed here.

Guptkashi helipad

Guptkashi carries the highest fare of the three helipads. Its two 2026 operators are Trans Bharat Aviation (shown on the portal as Trans Bharat Aviations) and Chipsan Aviation. ETV Bharat's 2 April 2026 report put the Guptkashi-Kedarnath schedule at 24 shuttles a day.

Phata helipad

Phata has the largest roster, four companies: United Helicharters, Thumby Aviation, Rajas Aerosports and Adventures, and Pilgrimage Aviation. It is the mid-fare helipad. Our Phata to Kedarnath helicopter price page covers that route in detail.

Sirsi (Sersi) helipad

Sirsi, spelt Sersi on some official pages and news reports, is the cheapest helipad. Its two 2026 operators are Arrow Aircraft and Himalayan Heli Services (shown on the portal as Himalayan Heli). India TV had reported three operators at Sersi in June 2025; the 2026 table shows two, consistent with UCADA's 2026 allotment.

Two names pilgrims often search for are absent from the 2026 Kedarnath table. Pawan Hans is named on the portal but not in its Kedarnath route table, and, per ETV Bharat on 2 April 2026, operates the Hemkund Sahib shuttle in 2026 (ETV Bharat quoted Rs 10,584 round trip; the portal's Govindghat-Ghangaria row showed Rs 11,834 on 8 October 2026), not the Kedarnath helipads. Aryan Aviation had its Char Dham operations suspended after the 15 June 2025 crash near Gaurikund (The Tribune, 15 June 2025) and is not in the 2026 Kedarnath table; its current status beyond that is DATA UNAVAILABLE.

How UCADA allots operators and fixes fares

The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority is the state body that runs the Char Dham helicopter programme. Each season it selects the operators for each helipad, assigns their slots and sets the fare per route; the Directorate General of Civil Aviation separately licenses the operators and pilots and issues the operating guidelines. For 2026, UCADA selected the eight operators above, services began on 21 April 2026, and the one-way fares before GST were fixed at Rs 6,077 from Guptkashi, Rs 4,840 from Phata and Rs 3,043 from Sirsi (ETV Bharat, 1 April 2026).

Because the fare is set per helipad, not per company, two operators on the same route charge the same base fare; there is no cheaper operator to hunt for. The variables that change what you pay are the helipad you choose, the season's surcharges and the dynamic pricing the portal now flags. The full fare picture, including how helipad choice changes the total, is on our Kedarnath helicopter price page.

Ticketing is centralised too. IRCTC HeliYatra is the only sales channel; the portal lists the Guptkashi, Phata and Sirsi routes to Shri Kedarnath and shows the operating company against the slot you book. Blogs sometimes say the operator is assigned by rotation or that you cannot choose; we have found no official statement either way, so the safe description is that the portal shows the operator for your slot and you confirm it at booking.

Official fares: one-way vs round-trip, GST, surcharges

Most confusion about Kedarnath helicopter fares comes from two figures quoted for the same helipad without labels. ETV Bharat's 1 April 2026 report gives one-way fares before GST; the portal and ETV Bharat's 2 April 2026 report give round-trip fares including GST. The table reconciles them.

The arithmetic is shown so you can check it; this page does not assert the GST rate as a legal fact, only that the published figures line up with 5%. Both sets of numbers are a baseline, not a quote, because of the three notices the portal now carries.

Fuel surcharge from 1 October 2026

The portal states that a fuel surcharge will apply to journeys starting from 1 October 2026. No amount is published on the page we read, so the surcharge is DATA UNAVAILABLE until you reach the payment screen. If you are flying in the October-November window, expect the total to be above the round-trip figures in the table.

Convenience and payment-gateway fees

The portal's second notice is that convenience fees and payment-gateway charges are payable extra, and its third is that dynamic pricing on helicopter tickets applies as per UCADA policy. In practice this means the figure on the final payment page can be higher than the fixed fare; the operator name does not affect it.

A worked example shows how to use the table. A family of four flying round trip from Phata would start from 4 x Rs 10,164 = Rs 40,656 at the published GST-inclusive fare. Add the fuel surcharge if the journey starts on or after 1 October 2026, the convenience fee and payment-gateway charge, and any dynamic-pricing uplift, and the final figure appears only on the portal's payment page. The same family from Sirsi would start from 4 x Rs 6,390 = Rs 25,560, and from Guptkashi 4 x Rs 12,762 = Rs 51,048, before the same additions. These are arithmetic on published figures, not quotes.

What changed between the 2025 and 2026 rosters

The 2026 allotment is smaller and more tightly supervised than 2025's. India TV reported on 15 June 2025 that eight operators were flying from Guptkashi (2), Phata (3) and Sersi (3), averaging 215 flights a day and up to 290 in good weather, carrying about 1,500 pilgrims daily. For 2026 the count is still eight, but the split moved to 2/4/2, and ETV Bharat's 2 April 2026 report describes the operating environment around them: comprehensive DGCA guidelines for Char Dham helicopter operations, about 30% fewer shuttle services than earlier years, temporary air traffic control facilities at Kedarnath and Badrinath with permanent ones planned, PTZ-camera monitoring through Integrated Control Rooms, advanced weather-monitoring equipment, and immediate action against negligence. The same report lists the other 2026 Char Dham helicopter fares for context: Hemkund Sahib Rs 10,584 round trip (the portal showed Rs 11,834 for Govindghat-Ghangaria on 8 October 2026), operated exclusively by Pawan Hans, and Gauchar-Badrinath Rs 22,000.

For a pilgrim, fewer shuttles under the same eight-operator cap means scarcer seats per day than in 2025, which matters more for your booking date than the operator name.

Does the operator matter? Choosing by helipad instead

For price, no: the fare is fixed per helipad. For safety, this page does not rank operators, and no official ranking exists; all eight fly under the same DGCA licensing and the same UCADA allotment, and the 2026 season's regulatory changes apply to every one of them. The one operator-specific fact on record is the 2025 suspension of Aryan Aviation, which is not in the 2026 table.

What does change your trip is the helipad. Guptkashi costs the most, Sirsi the least, and Phata sits between and has the most companies, which may mean the most slots on a given date. The choice depends on where you are staying the night before, how early you can report, and which helipad has seats on your date. Our which helipad is best for Kedarnath guide walks through that decision.

Booking with any operator: the rules that do not change

Whichever company flies your slot, the booking rules are set by the portal, not the operator. As listed by a 2026 booking guide updated 3 October 2026 (confirm on the portal): a single ticket can cover up to six passengers, one user ID can hold two tickets, passenger weight guidance is around 80 kg, and you report at the helipad about an hour before your slot. The portal's own cancellation policy page governs refunds for weather and operational cancellations.

Before you compare operators at all, check the current official fare table and the surcharge notice on the IRCTC HeliYatra portal at heliyatra.irctc.co.in. The roster on this page was read from that portal on 8 October 2026 and will be updated when the 2027 allotment is announced.

Written and reviewed by the Kedarnath Helicopter Yatra editorial team. Facts checked against primary sources; see the reference above.

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