Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has allowed temporary relaxations in flight duty norms to Air India for long-haul flights to Europe, USA, and Canada as the airline has been forced to take longer routes due to airspace restrictions on account of the Iran war which has adversely impacted operations and the movement of passengers, according to sources.
With airspace restrictions over Iran and Iraq due to war, the Tata Group airline has been taking a detour via Egypt for its flights to western countries, leading to longer flying hours and higher fuel burn. According to sources, the civil aviation regulator has, after examining Air India’s request, granted some easing in pilot Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms until April 30.
The DGCA has permitted the airline to operate long-haul flights with two pilots and extended the Flight Time (FT) by 1.30 hours to 11.30 hours and the Flight Duty Period (FDP) by 1.45 hours to 11.45 hours. The exemption also includes relief from the 30-minute roster planning buffer requirement. Flight Time refers to the total duration from the moment an aircraft first moves for the purpose of take-off until it finally comes to rest at the end of the flight.
The Flight Duty Period begins when a flight crew member reports for duty and ends when the aircraft engines are switched off after the final flight. It was not immediately clear whether low-cost carrier IndiGo has also received similar exemptions for its long-haul services.
