DGCA grants temporary pilot duty relaxation for Air India amidst
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted a temporary extension to flight duty time limitations specifically tailored for long-haul flights between Europe, the UK, and North Africa. This regulatory relief allows pilots extended hours due to mandatory detours around Iran and Iraq caused by ongoing airspace restrictions in West Asia following recent tensions involving Israel's airstrikes on Iranian facilities near Baghdad airport sources cited PTI said Sunday aviation safety regulator DGCA has granted temporary relaxations for Air India long-haul flights as the carrier takes...
Key Points
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1The DGCA has granted temporary relaxations in flight duty time norms for Air India's long-haul flights.
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2This regulatory relief allows pilots to fly longer hours due to extended routes required by Middle East airspace closures over Iran and Iraq.
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3Air officials state the permission enables roster rework, while pilot unions have raised concerns about these extensions.
Developments
Perspectives
The DGCA has granted a temporary relaxation of safety rules for Air India specifically allowing it space to rework its rostering in response to operational disruptions caused by West Asia crisis.
— [Mar 16, 00:50] DGCA relaxes safety rules for Air India amid West Asia crisis (Hindustantimes)Flight operations between India and the United Arab Emirates faced significant cancellations or scaling back of services due to operational restrictions stemming from rising tensions in West Asia.
— [Mar 15, 20:35] Airlines curtail UAE operations; DGCA relaxes flight duty norms for Air India (Publish.tribuneindia.com)The Federation of Indian Pilots raised concerns regarding the extension granted to pilots by their employer while managing ongoing airspace restrictions over Iran and Iraq.
— [Mar 15, 16:26] Air India Secures Temporary FDTL Relaxations Amid Middle East Airspace Closures, Pilots Body Raises Concerns (Prod-qt-images.s3.amazonaws.com)The DGCA allowed wide body pilots to fly for longer hours through a temporary flight duty time limitation relaxation because the airline is forced to take much longer detour routes between India and Europe.
— [Mar 15, 20:48] DGCA lets AI pilots fly longer hours as Gulf detours stretch West routes (Timesofindia.indiatimes.com)Air India has secured temporary relief for long-haul flights that are rerouting around Iran and Iraq by extending pilot duty limits while adding extra crew rest to maintain safety amid Middle East tensions.
— [Mar 15, 09:27] Air India gets nod for pilot duty extension amid Middle East airspace curbs (Indiatoday.in)Flight operations between India's UAE routes were disrupted on Sunday due to rising tensions in West Asia, leading airlines like Air India Express and IndiGo to cancel or scale back services following instructions from the Dubai authorities while rerouting flights via Egypt for Europe-bound travel. To mitigate these operational challenges caused by airspace restrictions over Iran and Iraq, DGCA granted temporary relaxations extending pilot duty time limits on long-haul operations until April 30.
Air India received a temporary extension from DGCA to increase flight time limits by 1 hour 30 minutes (to 11 hours) due to mandatory rerouting caused by the closure of Middle Eastern corridors. The airline implemented safety mitigations, including extended rest periods and constant operational monitoring for crews operating under these exemptions on affected routes while facing pilot union concerns over potential risks.