India’s aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has announced updated regulations to enhance flight safety and reduce pilot fatigue. The announcement comes in the wake of multiple fatigue related pilot deaths in India abroad. The revised FDTL regulations are effective immediately and the airline operators are required to comply with the revised regulations latest by 1st June, 2024.
As per a PIB release, the DGCA has made significant changes in the regulations pertaining to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) for the flight crew. The changes ere in line with the international best practices and have been instrumental in managing fatigue related aviation safety risks for more than a decade now.
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Revised FDTL Regulations
1) Extended Weekly Rest Periods for flight crew: The revised regulations mandate increased weekly rest periods from 36 hours to 48 hours for flight crew.
2) Night Duty: Increase of 1 hour in the night duty time, which now covers the period of 0000-0600 hours in the revised regulations vis-à-vis the period of 0000-0500 hours previously. The revision aligns 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.
3) Maximum Flight Time, Maximum Flight Duty Periods and Number of Landings during night: The maximum flight time & maximum flight duty period for flight operations have been restricted to 8 hours flight time & 10 hours flight duty period respectively. The number of landings have been limited to only two landings.
4) Fatigue Risk Management System: FRMS is a data-driven approach to enhance monitoring and reporting of flight crew fatigue. It will be implemented once all the stakeholders are ready.
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5) Fatigue Report: DGCA has mandated that all airline operators shall submit quarterly fatigue reports after analysis, including the Action Taken on such reports.
As per DGCA, the revised FDTL regulations have been formulated after data analysis and feedback from various stakeholders which includes airline operators, pilot associations and individuals. The world-wide best practices (FAA – USA and EASA – EU) have also been taken into consideration.
A bunch of much-awaited reforms in Flight Duty Time Limitations for our pilots has come through.
After in-depth analysis of pilot rosters, fatigue-related reports and direct feedback from pilots, we have introduced revised “FDTL Regulations” that include, increased rest…
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) January 8, 2024
Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Civil Aviation Minister of India said, “A bunch of much-awaited reforms in Flight Duty Time Limitations for our pilots has come through. These changes — that are very much in line with international best practices — will ensure India has the necessary arsenal, as it prepares to clinch the largest domestic aviation market title in the future.”