Pilots’ federation urges government to implement revised duty timings

Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), the pilots’ grouping with over 6,000 members, while raising concern about pilot fatigue, has urged the civil aviation ministry to implement revised norms on flight duty and rest period at the earliest.

The implementation of revised civil aviation requirement (CAR) on pilots, which seeks to provide more rest time for pilots amid rising concerns over pilot fatigue, was postponed indefinitely by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in March this year.

“It is deeply regrettable to observe that the DGCA despite its own statement on the impact of flight duty timings on pilot health had arbitrarily decided to indefinitely defer the implementation of the Revised CAR,” the FIP wrote in a letter to civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu on July 29.

“The DGCA’s failure to recognise the gravity of this issue not only jeopardises the lives of pilots but also gravely compromises the safety of the general public travelling by air. Moreover, the DGCA has failed to provide any substantial rationale for its decision to withhold the Revised CAR, capitulating to the demands of commercial airlines, thereby neglecting critical safety imperatives,” it added.

The pilots’ grouping urged the Union minister to intervene in the matter and direct the DGCA to implement the revised CAR at the earliest.

The aviation regulator, in a written communication on March 14, had stated that the purpose of the said revised rules was in view of the unfortunate instances of pilot’s deaths in the recent past allegedly due to publishing roster.

The revised rules were set to come into effect from June 1, but DGCA deferred the implementation on March 26.