ALPA India Raises Red Flag Over Misuse Of Pilot Rest Norms; DGCA May Step In
The concerns were raised during a meeting between the group of commercial pilots and officials from the DGCA.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is set to convene a meeting with airlines after the Airline Pilots' Association of India — representing over 1,000 pilots — raised alarm over the misuse of pilot duty and rest norms, which could potentially increase the risk of aviation accidents.
"There are serious concerns regarding misinterpretation of weekly rest provisions, fatigue being marked as sick leave, FDTL extensions beyond CAR limits primarily due to unforeseen operational needs like diversions, and early morning duties rostered after sick leaves," Captain Anil Rao, general secretary of ALPA India, told NDTV Profit, adding that flight safety was being compromised and pilot rights were being violated due to these issues.
The concerns were raised during a meeting between the group of commercial pilots and officials from the DGCA, including Director General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Joint Director General Bharath Bhushan and Chief Flight Operations Inspector Shweta Singh, in New Delhi on Monday. The meeting comes a month after the AI 171 plane crash, that killed at least 275 people in one of the worst aviation disasters in four decades.
From July 1, airlines were supposed to implement the recently revised norms on duty and rest hours for pilots, that increase their weekly rest time to 48 hours and limit the number of landings to two during night operations, in a phased manner.
The regulator, Rao said, has agreed to review the matter in consultation with airlines and its Flight Standards Directorate and take corrective action.
Among other topics of concern, DGCA agreed to constitute a committee to revise medical parameters for pilots operating civilian aircraft in India.
Currently, the mandatory medical evaluations of pilots are tethered to military protocols. The pilot body has argued that this practice is inconsistent with global civil aviation standards. The revised norms would be in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation standards.
Last week, the association had rejected the findings of the probe into the Ahmedabad plane crash by the Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau and lashed out at the bias toward pilot error. It has sought ‘observer status’ in the AAIB investigations, citing global practice.
The DGCA has asked ALPA India to submit supporting documentation from International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations and other countries where such provisions are institutionalised, Rao said.
Additionally, ALPA-India informed the DGCA of wrongfully penalising pilots under ‘Rule 67A’ for data discrepancies that are typically the airline’s responsibility. The regulator has agreed to initiate a review with its Directorate of Training and Licensing to realign accountability framework and fix "unjust" fines that, in some cases, run as high as Rs 75,000 for minor clerical delays, according to Rao.
