Delhi High Court pushes DGCA for faster rollout of new pilot duty norms

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) needs to figure a new timeline to put into action pilot duty regulations. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The Delhi High Court has mandated the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to expedite the implementation of new pilot duty and rest time regulations, targeting early 2025 to enhance flight safety and minimise potential aviation incidents.

Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju directed the DGCA to convene a comprehensive meeting on December 18, 2024, involving pilot associations, airlines, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. "This meeting aims to establish a concrete timeline for implementing the proposed Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms," The order said.

The directive stems from a writ petition filed by multiple pilot representative bodies, including Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), Air India Pilots' Union, Indian Pilots' Guild and Indian Commercial Pilots' Guild. The orders further read, "Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati revealed the DGCA's intention to notify the new FDTL norms by July 2025, proposing a phased implementation strategy."

Justice Ganju critically questioned the delayed timeline, highlighting, "the norms were technically ready for implementation since January 2024." Previous attempts to address the issue include a pilot association and airline meeting on November 13, 2024. The court has scheduled the next hearing for January 2025.

"In January 2024, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) introduced revised norms with significant modifications including Extended weekly rest period from 36 to 48 hours; Reduced night-time flying hours. This was provided to the airlines with a June 1 implementation deadline," said an FIP pilot.

"However, the DGCA dramatically reversed its position on March 26, 2024, by suspending the new rules. Removing the June 1 implementation deadline requesting airlines to propose alternative implementation timelines Airlines had strongly opposed the new regulations, warning that implementation would necessitate cancelling approximately 20 per cent of flights during the peak summer travel season," the pilot added.

"The DGCA subsequently instructed airlines to continue adhering to the 2019 Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms until individual airline schemes complied with the new Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR)," The pilot disclosed.