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Source: The post is based on the article “Pilot refuses to operate Lucknow-Chennai flight due to fatigue: What are flight duty time limitation norms?” published in Indian Express on 6th July 2023
What is the News?
A recent IndiGo flight from Dehradun to Chennai was delayed by several hours as the pilot complained of fatigue.
The pilot refused to operate the flight, citing flight duty time limitation (FDTL) norms.
What is Pilot Fatigue?
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) defines flight fatigue/pilot fatigue, as a physiological and psychological state of tiredness and weariness. It can be caused by prolonged periods of wakefulness and/or insufficient restorative sleep.
Pilot fatigue is a cause of real concern. It can cause a pilot to make wrong decisions or even fall asleep inside the cockpit, leading to a fatal crash.
What are Flight duty time limitation (FDTL) norms?
The flight duty time limitations (FDTL) are laid down by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
It ensures adequate rest timings for pilots and flight attendants and prevent fatigue-related safety issues.
The DGCA mandates that all airlines follow FDTL norms. Norms include rules such as all crew members can fly a maximum of 8 hours in a day, 35 hours in a week, 125 hours in a month and 1,000 hours in a year.
Other rules include that every crew member shall be given rest, which will be pro-rata twice the flight time, subject to a minimum of 10 hrs in any 24 consecutive hours.
What is the responsibility of airlines?
Every airline is required to formulate its own FDTL scheme, which must be compliant with the regulations issued by the DGCA.
The FDTL scheme needs to be approved by the DGCA and must be a part of the airline’s operations manual.
The DGCA rules prohibit airlines from asking flight crew to operate a flight if the prescribed time limitations are exceeded.
In addition, carriers are not supposed to ask a crew member to operate a flight if it is known or suspected that the flight crew member is fatigued to the extent that the safety of flight may be adversely affected.
