The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) says it will not go back on its new directive for airlines to provide more rest to pilots despite a demand from the industry to extend the June deadline for the implementation of the directive, which they warn will lead to a shortage of pilots, resulting in flight cancellations and hikes in airfares during the peak summer travel season.
The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), a group of domestic airlines, in its letter to the DGCA, called the six-month deadline until June for implementing the new duty norms “inadequate”. Following concerns from pilots about rising fatigue levels, the revised “flight duty time limitation”, issued by the regulator on January 8, curtailed night-time flying as well as enhanced weekly rest. The FIA includes Air India, SpiceJet, and IndiGo.
“We have given a reasonable period of six months to airlines to go back to the drawing board and plan,” a top DGCA official told The Hindu on the condition of anonymity.
