ALPA India urges DGCA to enforce full FDTL norms to ensure pilot safety

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Pilots' grouping ALPA India on Tuesday urged aviation safety regulator DGCA to implement the new flight duty time and rest period norms for pilots in entirety, without any exception. 

The Association of Air Line Pilots (ALPA) India said that such selective relaxations appear to serve the commercial interests of certain operators rather than uphold the primary mandate of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). 

Dispensations and deferments are being accorded without meaningful consultation with the end-users, pilots, who are directly impacted by fatigue and safety-related implications of these regulations, the association added. 

The regulator's revised CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement) 2024 related to the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) provides for more rest time for pilots, which the airlines initially opposed amid concerns over pilot fatigue. 

Initially, the new norms were to come into force on June 1, 2024. 

Earlier this year, DGCA, in its affidavit before the Delhi High Court, said new FDTL norms will be implemented in a phased manner. 

Of the 22 proposed clauses, 15 were implemented on July 1 this year, and the remaining ones, including two night landings in place of six in the earlier norms, were to be effective from November 1. 

The court's decision followed pleas filed by the Indian Commercial Pilots Association, Indian Pilots Guild and Federation of Indian Pilots on the regulator's revised FDTL norms. 

Airlines had sought a phased rollout of the norms on the plea that a single-phase rollout would lead to disruption in services.

However, airlines managed to get certain relaxations and dispensations from the DGCA on the implementation of the second phase rollout, which several pilots' bodies have criticised. 

"Despite clear directions from the court and over one and a half years having passed since the FDTL CAR -Rev 2 promulgation, it is deeply concerning that DGCA continues to implement the FDTL provisions selectively and on the basis of operator consent," ALPA India said in a letter to the regulator. 

"It is evident that these dispensations and deferments are being accorded without meaningful consultation with the end-users, pilots, who are directly impacted by fatigue and safety-related implications of these regulations." It is also pertinent to note here that ALPA India said that another pilots' body, the Federation of Indian Airlines, has already decided to file a contempt notice against DGCA over these issues. 

"The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has already raised pertinent objections, highlighting the lack of transparency and uniformity in DGCA's approach. Such selective relaxations appear to serve the commercial interests of certain operators rather than uphold the primary mandate of DGCA, to ensure the highest standards of flight safety and passenger protection," it stated. 

"It is a matter of serious concern that despite no demonstrable pilot shortage across the industry, the full implementation of the CAR continues to be delayed." The association also urged the regulator to ensure that all future regulatory relaxations are preceded by consultation with pilot representative bodies, saying that pilots are the key stakeholders in operational safety. 

"The continued selective application of safety regulations undermines both the credibility of the regulator and the safety framework it is mandated to uphold," it said while appealing to DGCA for immediate corrective action in the larger interest of aviation.