West Asia crisis: Indian airlines seek pilot duty rule relief as longer routes breach flight limits

airlines are required to deploy an additional pilot. This typically means operating the flight with an augmented crew consisting of a captain and two first officers.The aviation safety regulator is conducting a safety assessment and could possibly agree to grant such exemptions, according to the official quoted above.

Mint could not independently ascertain whether the exemption will be granted. An email sent to DGCA went unanswered.The longer routings have already pushed several flights beyond the 10-hour limit.

For instance, an Air India flight from Delhi to London, which earlier remained within the threshold, now takes between 10 hours 45 minutes and 11 hours 5 minutes, requiring the airline to deploy an additional pilot.Before the West Asia crisis and the closure of Pakistani airspace, flights to Western destinations typically took 8.5-9 hours.The request for relief also comes at a time when India’s aviation sector is already struggling to hire enough pilots. New FDTL rules introduced last year require airlines to increase pilot numbers, including a restriction that allows pilots to operate flights landing between midnight and 6 a.m.

only twice a week. Airlines had already deployed buffer pilots after the closure of Pakistani airspace.As a result, airlines have been ramping up pilot hiring to comply with the new norms.

However, flight durations stretching from around eight hours to more than ten hours on some sectors may further increase crew requirements.Emails sent to IndiGo and Air India Group did not elicit a response till press time.Airlines seek dispensations from the DGCA during times of crisis, war, and other exigencies. In the past, airlines have requested similar dispensations during events like the closure