No blanket extension given for Air India Boeing 787 pilot duty time

NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has “not given a blanket flight duty time limit (FDTL) extension for two-man flight crew operations from 10 hours (flying time) to 10.5 hours” for Boeing 787 Dreamliners. People in the know say the dispensation is “only for the 8-9 flights AI operates between north India, almost all Delhi and one Amritsar, & the west that are impacted by Pakistan airspace closure and where the flying time may exceed 10 hours by upto 30 minutes due to strong winds in winter.”

The Airlines Pilots’ Association of India had urged the DGCA to rollback the extension given to the “already stretched” FDTL for Boeing 787. Speaking on the issue, sources said: “This relaxation is not for crew planning purpose.