To address fatigue and health issues among pilots and cabin crew, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Friday released a draft of the revised duty period, flight duty period, flight time limitations and prescribed rest periods for flight crew engaged in scheduled air transport operations.
According to the proposed rules which have been opened for public consultation, DGCA proposed to cut down the maximum flight duty period from 13 to 10 hours for a pilot operating at night that is between 12 AM and 6 AM. The present flight duty time limitation (FDTL) norms do not differentiate between day and night flights and allow pilots to be on duty for 13 hours within a 24-hour span.
