Kedarnath helicopter booking closes as 31,450 seats sold in 90 minutes
All 31,450 seats for the Kedarnath helicopter shuttle service were booked within 90 minutes of opening. Officials said the process saw high demand, with most bookings made directly by pilgrims and measures in place to ensure transparency
Dehradun: All 31,450 available seats for the Kedarnath helicopter shuttle service between April 22 and June 15 were booked within 90 minutes of the portal opening, officials said on Saturday.
According to officials, the booking process commenced at 6 pm on April 15 and saw the final ticket issued by 7.28 pm. A total of 10,855 tickets were successfully generated through the official IRCTC portal during this window, they said.
The helicopter shuttle service provides an aerial link for pilgrims from base camps to the Himalayan shrine. These services operate from Guptkashi, Phata and Sirsi to reduce the arduous 16-km trek.
The Uttarakhand Tourism Department’s helpline call centre conducted 565 random verification calls to monitor the process. Officials found that 4,400 mobile numbers matched actual passengers out of 10,859 numbers used.
Analysis showed that 51 per cent of bookings were made directly by pilgrims. The remaining 49 per cent were processed through other authorised channels, the officials said.
Peak activity occurred between 6.10 pm and 6.32 pm. At 6.10 pm, the system recorded 849 bookings, followed by a sharp increase in volume over the next 20 minutes.
Maharashtra led the state-wise booking charts with 1,708 successful transactions. Other major bookings came from Uttar Pradesh (1,243), Delhi (867), Telangana (864), Karnataka (801) and Gujarat (700).
To maintain transparency, the state government limited each user to two bookings and 12 seats. A single IP address was restricted to five user IDs, with each booking capped at six passengers.
Official records show that 913 seats across 510 booking IDs have been cancelled to date. Officials said the streamlined process ensures a safe and reliable journey for all pilgrims.