- Air India seeks DGCA approval to extend flight duty limits amid Middle East tensions
- Request includes longer maximum flying times and reduced pilot crew for long-haul flights
- Flight diversions avoid risky Middle East airspace, causing longer routes and increased fuel use
As the Middle East conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel continues to escalate, airlines across the world have faced a myriad of problems, notably altering some routes. Indian Airlines are no exception to this, with Air India now responding to the escalating crisis in West Asia by formally petitioning the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGC, for r a variation in Flight Duty Time Limitation norms to accommodate significantly longer diversionary flight routes, sources have told NDTV Profit.
The Tata-owned carrier is requesting regulatory exemptions to operate certain long-haul sectors, with a two-pilot crew, rather than the standard three. The airline has also asked for a one-hour and three-minute extension to maximum flying times, which would raise the limit from ten hours to eleven or eleven hours and thirty minutes.
In addition, Air India is seeking to extend the maximum Flight Duty Period, or FDP, by One Hour and Forty-Five Minutes, increasing the cap from thirteen hours to Fourteen Hours and Forty-Five Minutes.
This is a direct response to the recent geopolitcal tensions in the Middle East, where the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is leading to a massive supply shortage in oil and LPG, while the restricted airspace is forcing airlines to take the long route.
With Pakistani airspace already off-limits to Indian carriers, flights bound for Europe and North America are being forced into extensive detours across the Arabian Sea, Central Asia, and Africa.
These diversions are adding hours to flight times, severely impacting fuel consumption, and pushing crews beyond strictly mandated duty limits.
The DGCA recently advised Indian airlines to avoid the airspace of Eleven Middle Eastern countries, categorising them as high-risk zones. For Air India, avoiding Iranian and Iraqi skies means adding massive block times to its most lucrative routes, a logistical hurdle that has already led to dozens of cancelled flights this week.
Government sources have confirmed that Air India's proposal is currently under close examination. Interestingly, while the broader aviation industry faces identical routing hurdles, officials have not yet received a similar exemption request from rival carrier IndiGo.
When contacted for a statement regarding the ongoing regulatory discussions, operational strain, and potential crew fatigue concerns, Air India has yet to respond to NDTV Profit.
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