Pilots Seek End to Airline Duty Relaxations

Mumbai, Dec 19 (PTI) Pilots' body FIP on Friday sought withdrawal of all dispensations/variations given to the airlines on the pilots' duty and rest period norms so that safety is not compromised.

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), which represents some 5,000 pilots in the country, in a letter to the Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, also sought a periodic review of the recruitment of pilots by airlines by the aviation safety regulator DGCA.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has provided certain relaxations to the domestic airlines, including IndiGo and Air India, in the pilots' new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) framework, allowing more night landings and duty time extension for two-pilot Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft operations.

The new norms, brought in line with the global standards to ensure passengers' safety, provide more rest to the cockpit crew, which the domestic airlines have been opposed to.


The pilots have, in the past, alleged that relaxations/ variations have been given to the airlines to cater to their commercial interests at the cost of safety.

Stating that all domestic airlines have "more than adequate" pilots to operate the available aircraft, the FIP, in a letter on December 19, said, "Therefore, all dispensations/variations to all airlines may be withdrawn with immediate effect to avoid compromising with (passenger) safety".

Besides, in future, to avoid a crisis, the FIP said all schedules or inductions of new aircraft in any airline must be based on the availability of pilots, cabin crew, ground crew, engineers, infrastructure, and parking slots, among others, it said.

"Without satisfying these conditions, no aircraft or schedule can be approved by the DGCA or the government," the FIP said.