Pilots’ body asks DGCA to roll back Boeing 787 crew’s extended hours

The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) has written to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Sunday, raising serious operational and safety concerns over the regulator’s decision to extend the Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) for two pilot operations on Boeing 787 aircraft.

In a letter dated October 26, ALPA said the DGCA’s move to increase the flight time for two-man crews from 10 hours to 10 hours 30 minutes and the total duty period from 13 hours to 14 hours poses a “grave safety risk”, especially in light of recent restrictions imposed by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the same aircraft type.