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VIP netas suffering from lack of choppers this campaign season are travelling by single-engine ones, against the DGCA's advice

In the midst of all the election frenzy, big-ticket politicians care little about having a back up. Despite a diktat

landing in trouble: Pranab Mukherjee and Amar Singh have been using single-engine choppers. representation pic

from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that state and central ministers and the SPG-protected leaders should use only twin-engine choppers quite a few political bigwigs are flouting norms and settling for single-engine ones.

Netas are succumbing to campaigning pressures and hopping on to regular single-engine helicopters due to the unavailability of twin-engine ones. Pressed for time, politicians like External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh, Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh, BJP's Gopinath Munde and NCP's R R Patil flew out in single-engine choppers during the last few weeks. 

"There is a shortage of twin-engine helicopters since most of those available have been deployed to carry personnel flying to oil rigs. Since campaigning is crucial, political parties are hiring single-engine choppers as well," said Pradeep Thampi, whose company has chartered both private jets and choppers to the Congress.  

"It is not that single-engine choppers are unsafe. But the ones with two engines are definitely superior since the secondary engine can act as back up during an engine failure," added Capt R Puri of Air Charters. (They have not rented out aircraft this election.)   

According to aviation experts, after senior Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia (2001) and the then Lok Sabha speaker G M C Balayogi's death in 2003 in plane crashes, politicians were taking adequate precautions, but had to relent this election season due to the unavailability of twin-engine choppers. 

However, strictly following the DGCA guidelines, operators have made available twin engine choppers to the Gandhi family and Lalu Prasad Yadav.