New Delhi [India], January 8 : The revised Flight Duty Time Limitations of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has extended weekly rest periods for flight crew, increasing it from 36 hours to 48 hours for flight crew.
These additional leisure hours are expected to ensure sufficient time for recovery from fatigue.
India has made significant changes in the regulations about Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) for flight crew, in line with international best practices.
DGCA said these regulations have been instrumental in managing fatigue-related aviation safety risks for more than a decade now.
To address and mitigate concerns about pilot fatigue through a data-driven approach, DGCA collected and analysed extensive numbers of pilot rosters along with pilot fatigue reports submitted by airline operators.
Based on the study and analysis, some of the key areas inducing fatigue such as maximum Flight Duty Period, Night Duty, Weekly Rest Period, and Flight Duty Period Extension were identified.
The worldwide best practices (FAA - USA and EASA - EU) have also been taken into consideration in amending the regulations while keeping in mind the specific operating environment in India.
In revised guidelines, the definition of night for night duty has been amended which now covers the period of 0000-0600 hours in the revised regulations vis-a-vis the period of 0000-0500 hours under the previous regulations.
"This enhancement of one hour during the early morning will ensure adequate rest and also align the night duty period which encompasses Window of Circadian Low (WOCL) from 0200-0600 hours i.e. the time during which the circadian body clock cycle is at its lowest in terms of alertness."
Maximum Flight Time, Maximum Flight Duty Periods and Number of Landings during the night:
The revised regulations have taken into consideration different types of operations across time zones. The maximum flight time and maximum flight duty period for flight operations encroaching night have been restricted to 8 hours flight time and 10 hours flight duty period respectively and the number of landings has been limited to only two landings as compared to the maximum permissible 6 landings under previous regulations during night operations, thus enhancing flight safety.
In addition, DGCA has mandated that all airline operators shall submit quarterly fatigue reports after analysis including the Action Taken on such reports. Further, it has been stipulated that the fatigue reports shall follow a non-punitive and confidentiality policy.
The revised FDTL regulations are effective forthwith and the airline operators are required to comply with the revised regulations by June 1, 2024.
DGCA further envisages the adoption of a new regime of fatigue management Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) going forward.
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