Team Blitz India
Directorate General of Civil Aviation has delayed implementing new flight duty rules for pilots aimed at reducing fatigue, according to an agency report citing officials. The revised norms were to be effective from June 1.
The implementation was delayed to have wider consultations, they said. The decision comes amid pushback from airlines over increased costs.
The new guidelines aim to reduce pilot tiredness by giving pilots extra time for relaxation. Less than two weeks have passed since the DGCA informed airlines that there would be no extension of the deadline for adopting the updated Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) regulations.
The updated FDTL regulations would not be implemented right away in order to give all factors adequate time to be considered, they said. Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which is made up of Air India, SpiceJet, and IndiGo, had requested an extension for the implementation of the updated FDTL regulations, which were released on January 8.
The regulator stated that the airlines must take all required actions to implement the updated FDTL CAR (Civil Aviation Requirements) starting on June 1, 2024, in a communication to the FIA earlier this month. The updated standards allow pilots to take up to 48 hours of weekly rest and restrict the amount of landings they can make during night operations to two. Additionally, pilots will now have prolonged night shifts, working from midnight to six in the morning instead of the previous five hours.
Additionally, quarterly tiredness reports, which “should follow a nonpunitive and confidentiality policy,” are mandatory for all airlines to submit.
