DGCA Allows Longer Pilot Duty Hours for Air India Amid the West Asia Crisis

Since February 28, the DGCA has temporarily allowed extended flight duty time limits for some Air India international flights on longer routes due to the closure of Iranian and Iraqi airspace. 

Israel and the US directed military strikes on Iran, igniting a fresh conflict in the Gulf two weeks ago. Most of the airspace in West Asia has remained closed to commercial flights. 

In an internal operational circular issued on March 13, Air India informed its flight crew that the DGCA had granted a provisional exemption from the standard FDTL rules for managing disruptions caused by airspace closures. 

The unavailability of Iranian and Iraqi airspace has led to the mandatory rerouting of certain long-haul flights, now operating via alternate corridors. This has led to longer sector times and required “a temporary FDTL extension for minimizing schedule disruptions and passenger inconvenience”.

FDTL are rules prescribed by the DGCA that govern how long pilots can fly before mandatory rest is required. Air India said that the maximum permissible "flight time" for two-pilot operations has been increased by 1 hour 30 minutes, to 11 hours 30 minutes. Flight time is the period from when an aircraft takes off until it lands safely.

The maximum "flight duty period," which includes pre-flight preparation, the flight itself and post-flight procedures, has been extended by 1 hour 45 minutes to 14 hours 45 minutes.

A “temporary exemption from the 30-minute roster planning buffer requirement” has been granted on some flights. This is an additional margin airlines keep while scheduling crew, so that delays do not push pilots beyond their duty limits.

Some mitigation measures will accompany the exemption, such as continuous monitoring and review with the DGCA, briefings for the crew on the changes and an additional rest period of 4 hours for pilots operating flights under the exemption, over and above the minimum rest required under DGCA rules.

The exemption will apply only to certain flights, and the details will be communicated to crews through fleet-specific company NOTAMs.

An Air India official said the airline will ensure pilots operating flights with extended flight times receive additional rest. 

The president of the Federation of Indian Pilots said the union has written to the DGCA, raising concerns over the extension.

The president said that the DGCA’s civil aviation requirements currently restrict flight time to 10 hours and the flight duty period to 12 hours for operations that include a single landing. This allows an additional 1 hour 30 minutes of flight time and 1 hour 45 minutes of duty period for two-pilot crews.

Source: Business Standard