48 hrs weekly rest, only 2 night landings in rules to avoid crew fatigue

The revision in FDTL regulations is expected to influence flight schedules and may result in certain implications when it comes to operating costs, aviation sources said

In a bid to ensure better fatigue management, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has revamped the flight duty time limitations (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 civil aviation regulator — Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) — has mandated airline operators to comply with the new notification by June 1 this year. 
 

The fresh changes are expected to cause turbulence in flight schedules and could impact operating costs, too, according to aviation sources. “There will be an impact in terms of schedules and costs. However, it’s too early to comment as the recent notification has to be thoroughly assessed,” a source said.

None of the six major airlines — IndiGo, Air India, Vistara, Akasa Air, Air India Express, and SpiceJet — responded to queries sent by Business Standard until the time of going to press. 

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' 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.

This will align with the window of circadian low (WOCL) from 2 am to 6 am. This is the time during which the circadian body clock cycle is at its lowest in terms of alertness.

The new rules also require airlines to submit quarterly fatigue reports, including details of action taken, to the regulator. The aviation regulation has directed airlines to have a “non-punitive and confidentiality” policy towards their flight crew when it comes to these reports.

 “After an in-depth analysis of pilot rosters, fatigue-related reports and direct feedback from pilots, we have introduced revised ‘FDTL Regulations’ that include increased rest periods, redefining night duty, and regular fatigue reports to be shared by airlines. In addition, we will soon transition towards a new regime of fatigue management i.e. fatigue risk management system (FRMS), which will be a data-driven approach to enhance monitoring of flight crew fatigue,” said Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union minister for civil aviation.
 

Meanwhile, the number of landings during night operations has been restricted to two landings as opposed to a maximum of six permissible landings. 

The maximum flight time and maximum flight duty period for flight operations during the night have been restricted to 8 hours flight time and 10 hours flight duty period respectively, the DGCA said in a statement. “Flight time” means the time taken to operate a single flight while “flight duty period” is the time taken to operate a consecutive series of flights by a pilot.

“The DGCA collected and analysed extensive numbers of pilot rosters along with pilot fatigue reports submitted by airline operators,” the regulator added. 

The civil aviation regulator said the revised FDTL regulations have been formulated after data analysis and feedback from stakeholders, such as airline operators, pilot associations and individuals.

The death of pilots due to cardiac arrest had brought back the focus on Indian carriers’ internal procedures to handle fatigue and stress among pilots last year, and on the FDTL norms, which were put in place by the DGCA in 2019.

Easing work pressure
 

Revised FDTL norms
 

•  Rest periods increased to 48 hours a week from 36 hours
•  Night will now be considered a period between midnight and 6 am. Earlier, it was between midnight and 5 am
•  Number of landings during night ops restricted to two, as against six earlier
•  Airlines required to submit quarterly fatigue reports