India’s aviation regulator has proposed a new, phased roadmap to introduce stricter limits on when and how long pilots can fly in order to minimise fatigue among air crew in a submission to Delhi high court.
The Director General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) roadmap, submitted to the Delhi high court, proposes increasing pilots’ weekly rest from 36 to 48 hours starting July 1, 2025, and phasing in reduced night flying from November 1, 2025, as part of relaxed duty norms for cockpit crew.
DGCA, in its affidavit before the high court, stated that of the 22 proposed clauses pertaining to Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL), 15 would be implemented from July 1, 2025, while the remaining seven would be rolled out from November 1, 2025.
The regulator’s phased approach follows stiff opposition from airlines, which led to the postponement of the original implementation date of June 1, 2024. The revised timeline was submitted after several rounds of court-ordered mediation between Air India and pilot unions, facilitated by DGCA.
The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for February 24.
Also read: Aircraft technical glitches decreased over three years: Civil aviation minister
Among the provisions deferred to November 1 is a revised definition for night duty, wherein duty periods falling between midnight and 6 am will be classified as night duty, instead of the current midnight to 5 am standard.
Given that airlines can assign pilots to only two consecutive nights of flying, this modification is expected to reduce the extent of night flying. Additionally, DGCA has capped the number of night landings per pilot to two if their duty period extends into the night duty window.
For ultra-long-haul flights, pilots operating across two consecutive nights, including routes to and from the US, will receive an additional 24 hours of rest, increasing the mandated rest period from at least 120 hours to at least 144 hours. Pilots have long demanded the elimination of two consecutive night duties, arguing that they disrupt natural sleep cycles, induce fatigue, and compromise alertness. They contend that rising international flight operations have exacerbated these issues, as airlines have cut back on overnight layovers in favour of direct return flights, intensifying their workload.
Airlines, on their part, have strongly opposed the DGCA’s plan to restrict night flying. In a submission to the regulator last December, IndiGo warned that the broader night flying definition would have a “severe operational impact” and urged for the current standard to remain unchanged. Air India, too, has resisted the new norm, stating it would implement the change only after a modern, data-driven fatigue risk management system is introduced.
DGCA first announced the new FDTL rules in January 2024 to address rising fatigue concerns among pilots, initially planning for implementation by June 1, 2024. However, the aviation regulator deferred the rollout in March 2024 following resistance from airlines, which argued that the changes would require hiring 10-20% more pilots and could lead to flight cancellations during peak travel periods. The deferment followed directives from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), leaving airlines to continue operating under existing FDTL norms until their new schemes were approved.
Following the postponement, multiple cases regarding FDTL were brought before the Delhi high court. On December 6, 2024, the court directed DGCA to consider implementing the new norms from early 2025 to ensure sufficient rest for pilots and mitigate fatigue-related risks.
Hearing a petition filed by the Federation of Indian Pilots and other pilot unions, justice Tara Vitasta Ganju instructed DGCA to convene a meeting with pilot associations, airlines, and MoCA on December 18, 2024, to establish a revised timeline.
On January 23, additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, representing DGCA, informed the court that the regulator would soon submit a detailed affidavit on the implementation of the new FDTL norms. The court had at the time granted the DGCA until February 24 to finalise the roadmap.