The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has decided not to extend the June 1 deadline for implementing the revised flight duty norms for pilots and asked airlines to submit the revised schemes by April 15. The new norms, which will be implemented from June 1, will provide rest time for pilots and seek to alleviate pilot fatigue.
The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which has Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo under its fold, had written at least twice to the regulator seeking more time for implementation of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms were issued on January 8.
But DGCA, as per a statement issued to the FIA, has said that airlines have to take all necessary steps to roll out the revised FDTL CAR, with effect from June 1, 2024.
The revised norms will provide increased weekly rest time to 48 hours for pilots and limit the number of landings to two during night operations. Besides, the night hours for pilots will be extended to cover the period from 0000-0600 hours, whereas it was 0000-0500 hours earlier.
Also, all airlines have to compulsorily submit quarterly fatigue reports, which "should follow a non-punitive and confidentiality policy".
"The CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement) provisions may appear either restrictive or liberal, depending on its direct impact on the viewing entity, and differing perceptions may be formed, when viewed from the eyes of either the airline operators or the pilots.
"While perceptions may vary, DGCA is primarily concerned in ensuring safe operations and practices that are best suited to the unique operating environment prevailing in India," the communication said.
According to the DGCA, the time frame for implementation of the revised CAR was arrived at after taking into account the lead time involved for operators to put in place the necessary change management steps, including crew recruitment, crew training and other attendant logistical arrangements.
The action was taken by the regulator after complaints were lodged by a large number of pilots that they are being stretched by the airlines using the regulator’s soft rules which ensures they are not violating the norms. In August last year, an IndiGo pilot died due to a sudden cardiac arrest at the Nagpur airport minutes before operating the flight.