The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on April 10 asked domestic airlines to come up with a timeline for the implementation of new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, or new rules on pilot duty and rest periods.
In a letter addressed to SpiceJet, Air India, Vistara, Air India Express, IndiGo, Akasa Air, Alliance Air, BlueDart, and Quikjet, the DGCA asked airlines to "kindly indicate the timeline required to prepare a roadmap for implementation of revised FDTL norms and the timeline for subsequent implementation of the same."
The move by the Indian aviation regulator comes after the Delhi High Court on April 1 asked the DGCA for a tentative date for implementation of the revised duty time norms for pilots. The case will be next heard on May 8.
There has to be a time limit for implementation and it can not be postponed indefinitely, Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain observed while hearing writ petitions challenging the DGCA rules on pilots duty hours on April 1.
“We are concerned about the safety of passengers,” Jain said.
The DGCA in January amended the rules governing pilot work hours. The revision included an increase in the weekly rest period from 36 to 48 hours. Originally, the revised rule was to come into effect from June 1. However, the implementation of the new FDTL norms was put on hold due to objections from airlines.
DGCA put the new rules on hold after facing severe resistance from airlines that warned the rules would force them to cancel 20 percent of the flights at the peak of the summer travel season.
Industry participants indicated that the DGCA’s decision to withhold the new rules came after the Ministry of Civil Aviation decided that cancellation of flights during the peak summer season would cause greater public discomfort.
Last month, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) wrote a letter to the civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and DGCA underlining the need to implement the revised FDTL norms considering passenger safety.
In the letter, FID said the health and safety of the pilots cannot be prejudiced for the commercial benefit of the operators.
In a letter dated March 28, FIP urged Scindia’s intervention to ensure that the civil aviation regulator implements the revised rules as announced earlier.
The FIP, the Air India Pilots’ Union, the Indian Pilots’ Guild, and the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Guild moved the Delhi High Court over duty timings.
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