DGCA issues new guidelines to manage pilot and cabin crew fatigue

The new rules were released after DGCA met with airlines and pilot associations in New Delhi to discuss duty hours and rest hours

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday issued new instructions to help airlines better manage fatigue among crew members. In its latest guidelines, the aviation regulator said that all airlines must provide at least one hour of training every year on how tiredness affects pilots and cabin crew. This training will be part of their regular annual ground training.

 

The new guidelines were released after DGCA met with airlines and pilot associations in New Delhi to discuss duty hours and rest rules. This meeting took place after DGCA recently made changes that allow more night landings and longer duty hours for some Boeing 787 flights.

What airlines must teach

According to the latest guidelines, the yearly training should explain rules about flying hours, duty hours, and rest, how sleep works and what disturbs the body clock, causes of fatigue, including health issues and how being tired affects performance.

 

The airlines also need to train on how to reduce or prevent fatigue, how lifestyle, food, exercise, and family life affect rest, and provide information on sleep disorders, effects of long flights and many short flights, and effects of flying across time zones.

 

The training can also include people like flight schedulers and dispatch teams, since they help plan crew duties.

Airlines must report fatigue cases

Additionally, the DGCA has asked airlines to release a clear fatigue reporting policy to all staff, create an independent Fatigue Review Committee to study reports and suggest solutions. The report needs to be shared with the aviation regulator every three months.

 

This report should include the number of crew trained, the number of fatigue reports received, how many were accepted or rejected, and the reason behind rejections. Crew members must also get at least 24 hours of rest, including one local night when they are given fatigue leave, the DGCA said.

Why were new rules needed

The latest guidelines came after DGCA found in a July audit that many airlines were still unclear about fatigue rules. Pilot groups have also been raising concerns that changes in duty-time norms may hurt safety.

 

Earlier, DGCA increased weekly rest time to 48 hours and limited the number of night landings, but airlines like IndiGo and Air India initially opposed these changes. These rules were enforced only after the Delhi High Court’s direction.