Deccan Charters is an aviation company based in Bengaluru, India that operates helicopter and fixed-wing charter services. Its main base is at Jakkur Airfield. Deccan Technical Services, the maintenance unit of Deccan Charters, maintains helicopters on behalf of 50 Indian corporates such as Reliance Industries and Essar Group. Their Mumbai centre is the authorised customer service centre to support Sikorsky S-76 helicopters.
The company started operations on 3 December 1997. as Deccan Aviation. It established Simplifly Deccan (formerly named Air Deccan), a low-cost airline in March 2003. In July 2004, Deccan Aviation partnered with the Favourite Group of Sri Lanka to launch a helicopter charter company called Deccan Aviation Lanka. In early 2007, the company started fixed-wing charter operations. Deccan Charters exited from the company in November 2011, after selling their 48% stake to Singapore-based Millennium Aero which renamed the company as Millennium Airlines.
In February 2012, Deccan Charters partnered with Taj Air, Bjets and other partners under the Powerfly brand to provide an air charter membership program through which customers can access Jets, Turbo Props and Helicopters. Deccan Charters Ltd. initiated non-scheduled chartered services in Gujarat under the brand name of Deccan Shuttles in August 2012. This service connected Ahmedabad, Surat, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar and Kandla. In April 2013, Deccan announced its decision to suspend all Gujarat operations citing poor patronage. In August 2014, Deccan Charters partnered with Luan Airways for providing medical evacuation services in North-East India.
In March 2017, the firm was awarded 21 regional air routes under the Indian Government's regional connectivity scheme, UDAN. Deccan Charters decided to use the popular Air Deccan brand to launch these services that will connect emerging towns across Indian states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura at affordable prices with 19-seater Beechcraft 1900D turboprop aircraft.
Air Deccan received the scheduled commuter operator (SCO) permit from regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on 22 December 2017 and the first flight, DN 1320, took off for Jalgaon Airport, from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) the following afternoon. In the first phase of operations, Air Deccan planned to connect to Jalgaon, Nashik and Kolhapur Airport from Mumbai and Pune Airport. However, it could not operate a large number of the RCS routes awarded to it due to the company's weak financials. Scheduled commercial operations were stopped in April 2020 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown.
As of 2026, the Deccan Charters fleet includes a variety of owned and managed fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters for private charter and specialized aerial services. The company also maintains a significant footprint in aircraft maintenance, managing over 50 aircraft for Indian corporate clients.
As of 2026, Deccan Charters operates as a non-scheduled aviation service provider. It does not fly fixed commercial routes; instead, it provides on-demand charters, heli-tourism, and offshore services from several key operational bases across India.
The company maintains engineering and operational facilities at the following locations:
The company continues to provide specialized shuttle and tourism services in the following regions: