What Are FDTL Rules That Led To IndiGo Crisis?

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday withdrew an instruction under the FDTL rules after IndiGo cancelled scores of flights across key cities in India, allegedly after facing pilot shortage due to the limitations of the aforementioned rules.

The instruction withdrawn by the regulatory body was regarding the weekly rest for crew members, as mandated by the FDTL rules. Earlier, the watchdog had mandated that "no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest". This rule has been withdrawn with “immediate effect".

What Is FDTL?

FDTL stands for Flight Duty Time Limitations. It is a set of rules laid out by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to reduce fatigue of pilots and improve their resting period. Here are some of the rules mentioned under FDTL:

Rest Period Before Flight

As per the rules, pilots are to be provided adequate rest before undertaking a flight duty. The rest period is to be a minimum of 12 hours or at least as long as the preceding duty period.

A rest period of 18 hours is mandated for crossing more than three to seven time zones. The rest hours has to be increased to 36 hours for crossing more than seven time zones.

Weekly Rest

The DGCA had earlier increased the weekly rest period of pilots to a continuous period of 48 hours. The DGCA had also directed operators to publish 'Flight Crew Roster' sufficiently in advance, which were to include the weekly rest.

Limit To Night Duties

The FDTL guidelines also aim to set a limit to the consecutive night duties of pilots. As per the rules, pilots can only fly for two consecutive night duties.

Limit To Night Landings

The guidelines also aim to limit the number of landings to two, as opposed to 6 landings earlier.

Fatigue Report Management

The DGCA directed all operators to use fatigue reports as effective tool in identifying and mitigating crew fatigue. Each Operator shall establish a clear policy with respect to fatigue reports. The policy should state not only ‘how to raise’ a report but also ‘what to do’ in response to a fatigue report.

The DGCA also asked operators to preserve all fatigue and Action Taken reports for a period of minimum one year. The quarterly fatigue reports are to be submitted to DGCA by Head of Operations.

The rules were rolled out in two phases, in July and November.

Also Read- IndiGo Meltdown: DGCA Gives In, Relaxes Key Fatigue Rules to Contain Nationwide Crisis