Rule concession draws ire of pilots

NEw new delhi:A airplane pilot unification and pilots workings for indigo plant rued the government’s decision to relax new crew rostering norms in the wake of the chaos it caused -- with 1,600 flights cancelled since Tuesday by the airline -- because the airline was not staffed adequately to meet the new Flight Duty Time Limitations that came into effect November 1, but were announced in early 2024.One person termed the airline’s action “blackmail” and demanded that it be slapped with a hefty fine.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Friday exempted Indigo’s Airbus A320 fleet from certain rules on pilot duty hours at night, after a representation from the airline a day earlier. It also allowed Indigo to call back pilots deputed elsewhere for flying duties. Separately, it withdrew a rule that prevented airlines from counting pilot leave as weekly rest to meet flying duty norms.The new norms, based on global benchmarks, were expected to make flying safer, and also improve working conditions for pilots.The relaxation, according to aviation regulator DGCA, was prompted by representations from IndiGo citing “severe operational disruptions, including massive flight cancellations/delays and consequential passenger inconvenience.” The airline told the regulator that the disruption had “primarily arisen due to the implementation of Phase-II of the revised FDTL Civil Aviation Requirements… .”It is not clear why the airline did not staff adequately despite the more than adequate warning it had about the implementation of the new norms.“Indigo is a really smart airline. The airline management knew many months back about the new FDTL and the draft FDTL was known to everyone, yet they chose to not consider rostering crew accordingly. Its unfair to ask for a grace period to implement it. The airline seems to have no regard for passengers or their aircrew,” one pilot at the airline said, asking not to be named.“ Instead of concentrating on increasing routes, they should have worked to follow the new norms,” another pilot at the airline said on condition of anonymity.To be sure, IndiGo was the first carrier to oppose the new FDTL norms for pilots when they were introduced in January 2024 with March that year as the original deadline .“IndiGo thought the new FDTL would not be implemented. I don’t think any grace period or relaxation should be given to the airline, and if you are allowing it to one, it should be allowed to all. In my view, if this was the only way out to help passengers, nothing less than a Rs. 100 crore fine should be imposed on the airline for violating, rather than not obeying a mandatory rule.” Capt Sharath Panicker, a former pilot said.“All this seems to be a pre-planned manoeuvre to blackmail DGCA to withdraw new FDTL norms,” he added.Taking a strong objection to the dispensation granted to IndiGo, Capt. Sam Thomas, president of Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA), stated in a letter, “By granting selective exemptions to IndiGo, DGCA has opened the door for all other operators to cite their own operational, commercial, or scheduling reasons to demand similar dispensations from the FDTL CAR(Civil Aviation Rule (CAR) are guideline issued by DGCA that sets standards for safe and efficient air travel). This undermines the very principle and purpose of the CAR itself. If dispensations can be granted based on each operator’s requirements, then the relevance, authority, and intent of the FDTL CAR is defeated entirely.”The association also warned that if these dispensations are not revoked, “...DGCA shall bear direct responsibility for any incident, accident, or loss of life arising due to fatigue-related impairment enabled by these exemptions and the pilot shall not be held accountable. Our appeal is made solely in the interest of the flying public of India. Passenger safety cannot be compromised for commercial interests under any circumstances.”Experts said the relaxation reflects poorly on India’s aviation regulation.“The DGCA retracting what is a vital safety directive on flight duty aimed at lowering crew fatigue and improving safety, even as a one of extension shows an unfortunate stance of safety standards being lax and “bendable” in India. This will attract unnecessary attention to India’s already tarnished safety credibility. Significant and adequate time was given for compliance with the new regulation, but to cow down to pressure shows the DGCA in extremely poor light with the world,” aviation expert Mark D Martin said.