New FDTL norms will not affect Akasa Air's flight schedule: CEO Vinay Dube

The new flight duty time limitation (FDTL) norms will not affect Akasa Air's flight schedule as it has hired a sufficient number of pilots in the last six to nine months to handle the anticipated change, its Founder and CEO Vinay Dube said on Tuesday. 

In a bid to ensure better fatigue management, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on January 8 revamped the FDTL regulations. The latest rules include additional rest for pilots, revision of night duty regulations, and directions for airlines to submit pilot fatigue reports. The regulator has mandated airline operators to comply with the new notification by June 1 this year. 

“For us at Akasa Air, safety is of utmost importance, and we pride ourselves in pursuing the highest global standards of safety.  We acknowledge the proactive efforts of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in addressing pilot fatigue, with the revision of the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL).  For the last six to nine months, our pilot hiring has been in line with this anticipated change and as such we will not see any impact to our hiring plans or schedules going forward,” Dube said in a statement.

The new mandate has increased weekly rest periods for flight crew to 48 hours in a week from the previous 36 hours.

The definition of 'night' in the FDTL regulatons has also been tweaked. Previously, night was defined as the time between midnight to 5 am. But now, night will cover the time between midnight to 6 am, giving flight crew an extra hour of rest during the early morning.