Rumble in the cockpit as DGCA defers new duty and rest rules
pilots are resenting the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DHCA) decision to defer the implementation of the new rules on pilot duty and rest period, pointing to fatigue-induced safety concerns.
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), which has more than 5,000 members, has told the aviation regulator this decision endangers and undermines the safety of pilots and passengers.
«The latest revision by the DGCA has made the revised regulations a dead letter of the law as it has effectively granted operators discretionary powers in implementing the revised rules,» the FIP wrote in a letter to civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. «Health and safety of the pilots cannot be prejudiced for the commercial benefit of the operators,» said the letter dated March 28 and reviewed by ET.
Earlier this week, DGCA put the new rules in indefinite abeyance after facing severe resistance from airlines that warned the rules will force them to cancel 20% of the flights at the peak of the summer travel season.
DGCA's reversal of position came within days after the regulator itself acknowledged the fatigue of pilots as a concern. The regulator had said that the multiple incidents of death of pilots due to punishing schedules should serve as urgent wake-up calls.
People aware of the development said that DGCA's decision to withhold the new rules came after the Ministry of Civil Aviation decided that cancellation of flights during the peak summer season would lead to public furore immediately after the takeover of a new
