Why are pilots asking for more rest hours? | Explained

Delhi High Court rules on pilot duty norms, with changes effective from July 1, 2025, addressing fatigue and rest concerns.

The story so far:

After at least a year-long tussle over the new relaxed duty norms for pilots brought out by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Delhi High Court on February 24, ruled that a vast chunk of these rules would come into effect from July 1, 2025. This brings to a close a six-year battle in Delhi High Court waged by pilot unions against the punitive provisions of the DGCA’s 2019 norms that raised permissible night flying from one night to two consecutive nights, slashed rest periods including for ultra-long range flights, and allowed airlines special dispensation for utilising pilots during unforeseen circumstances such as inclement weather or emergencies.

The Delhi High Court ruled that a vast chunk of the liberalised duty and rest norms for pilots that were unveiled in January 2024, but put under abeyance after opposition from airlines, would come into effect from July 1, 2025. These include provisions such as increased weekly rest from 36 hours to 48 hours. Airlines would also be required to submit quarterly reports of fatigue complaints filed by pilots as well as subsequent action taken by airlines to the DCGA.

Some of the more contentious provisions have been postponed for implementation on or before November 1. This includes the new definition of night duty — 00:00 hrs to 05:00 hours being widened to 06:00 hours — which would bring down the quantum of night flying as pilots can’t be rostered for more than two consecutive nights of flying. The number of landings for flights encroaching night duty will be capped to two; while on night duty pilots can also not be assigned more than eight hours of flying duty or 10 hours of total duty that encompasses pre and post flight tasks. The special dispensation given to airlines in the event of unforeseen circumstances has been tightened where the additional duration for which pilots can be utilised has been brought down from three hours to two hours, and their rest in such events has been raised.

Pilots were forced to go to Delhi High Court in May 2024, after the DGCA put its own January 2024 rules on hold because of stiff opposition from airlines. Several airlines had told the DGCA that provisioning for more rest and reduced flying would require them to hire more pilots which would need time, in the absence of which there could be flight cancellations and increase in airfare.

The volte face from the DGCA though came after it had admonished airlines for engaging in scaremongering and pressed for an urgent “wake-up call” as there had been incidents of pilot deaths “ostensibly due to punishing rosters”. On August 17, 2023, IndiGo’s Captain Manoj Balasubramani died due to a cardiac arrest at the boarding gate of Nagpur airport minutes before his flight to Pune.

Following the resurgence in travel post COVID-19, pilots say their share of daily flying has increased considerably, which includes upto four landings in a day that entail a flying duty of upto 10 hours and total duty period of 12-13 hours. As approaches and landings demand a higher level of concentration and complex decision-making, more flights mean a substantial increase in workload.