Relaxations to airlines on new pilot fatigue mgmt norms to end in 6 months: DGCA to HC

The HC hearing came close on the heels of IndiGo’s unprecedented operational meltdown earlier this month, triggering thousands of flight cancellations and chaos across major airports

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that all variations and relaxations granted to airlines from the new pilot fatigue management norms will end within “six months,” as the regulator works to ensure full compliance with the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) on Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) issued in 2024.

The DGCA said that the exemptions granted to airlines were “temporary, routinely reviewed”. (DGCA website)

Appearing before a bench of Justice Amit Sharma, on a contempt plea moved by pilot unions, the DGCA said that the exemptions granted to airlines were “temporary, routinely reviewed,” and issued without any commercial considerations.

DGCA told the Court that it had already asked all major airlines, including Air India and IndiGo, to prepare for full implementation of the revised norms.

“Six months is the outer limit. We have told all airlines, including Indigo, to expedite compliance (with FDTL norms),” advocate Anjana Gosain, who appeared for the DGCA, told the Court.

The Court was hearing two petitions filed by the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) and the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), which have accused the DGCA of violating undertakings given to the court by allowing airlines to dilute rest and duty norms meant to address pilot fatigue.

The HC hearing came close on the heels of IndiGo’s unprecedented operational meltdown earlier this month, triggering thousands of flight cancellations and chaos across major airports.

IndiGo, which commands over 60% of India’s domestic aviation market, has cited a convergence of crises — pilot shortages, cascading delays from an Airbus A320 software advisory, the enforcement of new FTDL fatigue rules and an aggressive winter schedule since October 26. The new FDTL norms, designed to enhance pilot rest and reduce night operations, forced hundreds of pilots into mandatory downtime after cumulative delays from the previous weekend violated midnight cut-offs. The airline’s high-utilisation model collapsed without staffing buffers.

In February, the DGCA had told the high court that the new FDTL norms would be rolled out in two phases. Of the 22 proposed clauses, 15, including increasing pilots’ weekly rest from 36 to 48 hours, were scheduled to take effect from July 1. The remaining seven clauses, such as the revised definition of night duty, were to be implemented from November 1. The changes deferred to November proposed classifying duty periods between midnight and 6am as night duty, instead of the current window of midnight to 5am.

Amid the ongoing crisis, the government has suspended the new pilot rest norms temporarily, imposed airfare caps to prevent price escalation and deployed additional trains to move stranded travellers.

DGCA, before the high court, argued that the variations fell squarely within its statutory powers.

“The variations made are within my routine powers and are reviewed every two weeks,” Gosain said, adding that exemptions were not granted lightly.

The DGCA also rejected the allegation that it had acted in contempt of court.

Referring to its affidavit dated February 19, 2025, filed before a single bench that was hearing related proceedings, Gosain said the document reflected a consensus arrived at between all stakeholders, including pilot unions and airlines. The airlines, it said, remained bound by the terms of that affidavit. However, the court had never issued a specific direction mandating that the exact scheme placed on record must be implemented without any operational variations, DGCA argued.

“There was no specific direction that the exact scheme placed on record via the affidavit be implemented,” the DGCA told the Court.

“The regulator has the power to make these variations,” it said.

Emphasising its engagement with pilots, the DGCA said it was working “shoulder to shoulder” with them and recognised pilots as an integral part of the aviation industry.

“We are working to ensure these variations do not work anymore,” Gosain said and added that the government had “done enough” to support the transition to safer fatigue management standards.

DGCA also pointed out that pilots’ representatives had participated in consultations as recently as November 21.

The petitioners had moved the Court following the rollout of the new FDTL norms, which the DGCA had committed to implement in phases. In February this year, the aviation regulator had informed the court that 15 of the 22 proposed clauses, including increasing weekly rest from 36 to 48 hours, would come into force on July 1, while the remaining seven clauses, including a broader definition of night duty, would take effect from November 1.

The IPG, which represents Air India pilots flying wide-bodied aircraft, has alleged in its plea through Senior Counsel Vivek Kohli that despite this undertaking, the DGCA continued to grant airline-specific exemptions without seeking the court’s permission or re-engaging with pilot bodies.

The union has claimed variations granted to Air India allow additional landings or extended duty in certain delayed or early-morning operations.

After hearing the submissions, the High Court issued notice to the DGCA and directed it to file a reply. It will hear the matter further on April 17, 2026.