In February, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which comprises IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet—had written to the DGCA seeking postponement of the new rules by a year.
In a surprising move, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Tuesday deferred its decision to implement the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules, which include longer mandatory rest periods for pilots, from June 1. Instead, the aviation safety regulator has, without mentioning a sunset date, allowed carriers to continue following the existing FDTL rules till the time their own schemes as per the new rules are approved.
Airlines had been voicing concerns that implementation of the new rules—aimed at better fatigue management through changes like longer weekly rest periods and fewer night landings as compared to the current norms—would result in a requirement of around 25 per cent more pilots, whom they would not be able to hire and train in such a short period.
