The aviation safety regulator’s decision to defer the implementation of new pilot rest and duty norms indefinitely “endangers pilot safety and safety of passengers”, a nationwide body of pilots has said in its letter to the government.
The new rules were framed following concerns over mounting fatigue among pilots. They provided enhanced rest by raising the weekly rest from 36 hours to 48 hours and curtailing night-time flying, which is known to impact alertness levels and crew performance, among other measures.
“The action of the DGCA not only endangers pilot safety but also undermines the safety of passengers which the implementation of revised CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement or rules) could prevent,” the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has said in its letter to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thrusday.
The FIP underlines that the commercial interests of airlines should not surpass the health and safety of pilots.
The pilots’ body was referring to the amendment of March 26 to the new pilot duty and rest norms notified in January, following which the regulator removed the June 1 deadline for implementing the rules. The modification allows airlines to follow the old 2019 duty and rest norms for pilots “till approval of their respective scheme” in conformity with the new rules, and does not provide a specific time frame for implementation.
The DGCA’s March 26 amendment to put the new rules in abeyance followed a demand from the airline industry for postponement on the grounds that enforcing new rest norms would require them to hire more pilots, which would take 8-10 months during which they would have to cancel 15% to 20% of their flights.
