“Worse than being drunk”: Inside India’s terrifying pilot fatigue problem

On January 8, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued revised regulations for flight duty time limitations (FDTL) for flight crew. Meant to keep a check on fatigue levels in pilots, airlines must comply with the updated rules by June 1. 

Among the key revisions are an increase in weekly rest periods for flight crew to 48 hours from the current 36 hours, stricter restrictions on maximum flight duty durations at night, a reduction in maximum landings during night operations, as well as a change in the definition of night flying period. The revised rules come on the heels of reports of multiple pilot deaths over the past year. 

In August 2022, a pilot of Indian origin died while on a flight as a passenger. The very next day, an on-duty IndiGo captain collapsed at the Nagpur airport and died shortly before he was to operate a flight. The death of an on-duty Air India pilot just three months later only added to the growing concerns about fatigue among pilots.