DGCA reaffirms June 1 date for new pilot duty norms, rejects airlines’ request for more time
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has turned down a request from airlines seeking to postpone the implementation of new norms on pilot duty hours, which would provide for more rest. The norms would come into force from June 1, the DGCA reiterated, pointing to recent pilot deaths as the reason for urgency.
Underlining the importance of addressing fatigue among flight crew, the DGCA wrote to the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) on March 14, saying that
“the unfortunate instances of pilot deaths in the recent past, ostensibly due to punishing roster schedules and consequent cumulative attendant impact on flight crew health and wellbeing, is an urgent wakeup call to address the issue without further delay.”
The regulator reiterated that the airlines must take all necessary steps to implement the revised rules from June 1, and also submit their internal company schemes conforming to the new norms by April 15.
More pilots needed
The FIA, which represents IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet, had earlier written to the DGCA, warning that implementing the new norms from June 1 “will have immediate and significant impact on businesses and customers alike” as airlines will require 15 25% more pilots.
In its January 8 notification, the DGCA had revised pilot duty hours to provide for more rest time and to restrict night flying. Pilots claim that night flying disturbs their circadian rhythms and alertness levels and contributes to mounting levels of fatigue.
The DGCA expanded the definition of night duty, earlier counted from midnight to 5 a.m., by raising the ceiling to 6 a.m.
It also restricted the maximum number of landings a pilot could carry out during the night hours to two, from the earlier six, and reduced flight time during night duty shifts from 10 hours to eight.