After airlines mount pressure, DGCA defers implementation of new pilot fatigue-related rules

In February, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which comprises IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet—had written to the DGCA seeking postponement of the new rules by a year. The FIA had said that carriers would have to cut capacity by 15-20 per cent if the new rules, notified in January, were implemented from June 1. The DGCA, however, appeared unfazed and kept insisting that airlines must comply by that date. Then came Tuesday’s surprise decision, which appears to be a win for the airlines.

Flight crew fatigue and exhaustion are seen as major factors contributing to human errors in aircraft operations, which can lead to catastrophic accidents. Also, fatigue and exhaustion can be dangerous for the health of the crew. The DGCA had, in fact, cited incidents of pilot deaths allegedly due to exhaustion while pushing airlines to adhere to the new regulations from June 1.

As per the new rules, among other changes, mandatory weekly rest period for pilots shall increase to 48 hours from the current 36, and their night flying shall also come down through a combination of extension of definition of ‘night’ by an hour and curtailing the number of authorised night landings.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) mandates that the country where an aircraft operator or airline is based shall establish regulations for the purpose of managing fatigue.

Current FDTL rules in India stipulate different categories of maximum flight duty periods per day based on maximum permitted landings and flight time. Among other things, the regulations stipulate mandatory rest periods between flight duty periods, in-flight rest periods for long-haul flights, other mandatory rest periods, guidelines for scheduling night operations, and maximum cumulative flight time and duty period limitations per week, two weeks, four weeks, 90 days, and one year. The rules also include special norms for ultra-long-haul flights.

According to the DGCA, airlines are required to establish their own limitations on these counts within the regulator’s framework of fatigue management regulations, which are based on ICAO standards and best practices of the US aviation regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).