Bharatiya Vayuyan Niyam 2026 Replaces Aircraft Rules of 1937

India's civil aviation sector has a new principal rulebook. The Government has notified the Bharatiya Vayuyan Niyam, 2026, framed under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, and it comes into force on 1 January 2027. The code retires the Aircraft Rules, 1937, which governed Indian skies for close to nine decades, and also Part IX of the Aircraft Rules, 1920. The Radio Telephone Operator (Restricted) Certificate and Licence Rules, 2025 stand repealed too, subject to saving provisions.

Why a new code was framed

Operational airports in the country rose from 74 in 2014 to 166 as of October 2026, and the rules governing aircraft technology, financing and day-to-day operations had to keep pace with that spread. The new code keeps safety at its centre while making room for commercial practices that did not exist when the 1937 rules were drafted.

How the code is arranged

There are 220 rules set out in eight chapters, supported by six schedules. They deal with aircraft registration, airworthiness, personnel licensing, aerodrome operations, air navigation services and flight operations, and then lay down regulatory oversight, safety management, enforcement and penalties. Every Indian aircraft must display the nationality mark VT, followed by a hyphen and three assigned capital letters, and the DGCA keeps a register of Indian-registered aircraft open to public inspection.

Leasing, licensing and fares

The code recognises fractional ownership, under which an aircraft may be jointly held so long as the arrangement names who is answerable for its operation and upkeep. Read with the Protection of Interests in Aircraft Objects Act, 2025, which brings the Cape Town Convention framework into Indian law, an eligible deregistration request from an IDERA holder must be processed within five working days. Twenty-three categories of licences, ratings and certificates are listed, covering pilots, flight engineers, aircraft maintenance engineers, air traffic controllers and radio-telephone operators. On the passenger side, airlines must publish tariffs digitally and show the full payable amount with a break-up of fares, taxes and other charges, and the Centre may issue proportionate, time-bound directions in extraordinary situations.

Offences and penalties

The code prescribes 21 punishable offences carrying imprisonment of up to two years, a fine of up to one crore rupees, or both, and makes 18 offences compoundable. Penalties are graded across ten severity levels, beginning at ten thousand rupees and rising to one crore rupees depending on the nature of the breach and the size of the offender.