‘Just Half an Hour More’: Pilots Warn DGCA’s New Rule Risks Fatigue

For years, flight crews have spoken — often quietly — about back-to-back schedules, red-eye landings, and the toll from jet lag. Fatigue management has been an uneasy balance between operational demands and safety obligations, with pilots warning that exhaustion in the cockpit is not just about tired eyes — it’s about alertness, judgment, and the margin for error at 35,000 feet.

Now, a fresh policy change threatens to tip that balance further.

On October 26, India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), announced a small change that pilots say can have big consequences. Pilots may now have to be on duty an hour longer than before.

Effective November 1, the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) will increase from 13 hours to 14 hours, and the Flight Duty Period (FDP) will go up from 10 hours to 10 hours and 30 minutes.

The FDTL sets the maximum total time a pilot can be on duty in a day, while the FDP refers to the span of time between when a pilot reports for work until the time they park the aircraft after their final flight for the day.

The decision has raised alarm bells. The All India Pilots Association (ALPA India) has urged the DGCA to withdraw the flight duty time extension, calling it a direct threat to flight safety.

“Even 10 hours was already a lot. We have operated those flights — by the time you are approaching, say, London, your eyes are burning. We are very clear — this change directly impacts safety,” Sam Thomas, president of ALPA India, told The Core.

According to reports, the appeal was initially made in connection with two-pilot Boeing 787 Dreamliner operations typically on long-haul routes such as Delhi–London, Mumbai–Paris, Bengaluru–Frankfurt, which often stretch close to the existing duty limits. But the DGCA confirmed the new rule applies across the board.

“The rule is not specific to any aircraft; it's all aircraft. FDTL is for the whole operation,” Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, director general of DGCA told The Core.

FDTL and FDP explained

In aviation, fatigue isn’t just about feeling sleepy — it can cloud judgment, slow reaction times, and erode situational awareness.

To prevent that, regulators worldwide set maximum limits on how long crew members can work and minimum rest periods between flights.

In India, those limits are governed by the DGCA. Europe’s EASA and America’s FAA have similar frameworks, tweaked to their local operations.

FDTL covers more than just time in the air — it includes everything from pre-flight briefings and aircraft checks to post-landing paperwork. Within that, Flight Duty Period (FDP) specifically refers to the total time a pilot is on duty: from the moment they report for work to the moment the engines are shut down after the last flight.

So if a pilot reports at 6 am and finishes duties by 2 pm, their FDP is eight hours. It does not include travel to or from the airport, just the professional duty window.

The DGCA’s earlier framework capped actual flight time — the hours a pilot is physically flying — at 8 hours within 24 hours, 35 hours in a week, 125 hours in a month, and 1,000 hours in a year.

The flight duty period — which includes pre- and post-flight duties — can go up to 10 hours (soon increasing to 10 hours 30 minutes), while the broader flight duty time limitation allows up to 13 hours, soon extending to 14 hours.

Why 30 Minutes Matter

Pilot fatigue has long been recognised as one of aviation’s biggest safety concerns. Numerous studies equate the cognitive effects of fatigue to alcohol intoxication.

In a 2022 survey of 542 Indian airline pilots, 74 % of respondents identified morning departures and extended duty hours as major contributors to fatigue; 66 % admitted they had dozed off during shifts or flights, and 31 % said they had experienced a “close call” due to fatigue-related issues.

“Think of it this way — that last 30 minutes comes at the most critical phase of flight: approach and landing. That’s when you need to be most alert. You have already flown 10 hours, and now you are dealing with complex weather or busy traffic. Sure, you can rely on autopilot most days, but what happens when something goes wrong? Are you really prepared for that level of fatigue? Even three extra minutes can be too many,” Thomas explained.

Those final moments before touchdown — juggling weather updates, air traffic instructions, and fuel calculations — are tedious and require pilots to be alert.

“It’s not a picnic up there. Yet people casually say, ‘Oh, it’s just half an hour more.’ Both the ones who ask for it and the ones who approve it have no real understanding of what that means in the cockpit. And that’s exactly where the problem lies,” he added.

What is the validation behind this rule change? asks Manish Sinha, aviation expert. “If there is data to support it, why introduce it now — at a time when the industry is already dealing with so many other challenges?”

In January 2024, two pilot unions — the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG) — wrote to Air India’s leadership alleging that some pilots were being “intimidated and coerced” into extending their flight duty time limitations (FDTL) beyond prescribed limits. The letter said that the airline’s approach “amounts to compromising safety” and asked for an immediate investigation.

ALPA has also used public campaigns and media statements to highlight fatigue risk and scheduling stress. For instance, they called for stronger rest rules, better mental-health support for pilots, and transparent fatigue-risk management systems.

Two Pilots, No Rest

Another concern raised by the pilot community is that the new rule affects two-crew operations — flights staffed only by two pilots, with no additional (or “augmented”) crew.

“The change applies to two-crew operations — meaning only two pilots in the cockpit, without an augmented crew. Earlier, we were already operating at the maximum duty limits. Extending them further only means pilots will be pushed harder and become more fatigued,” said a pilot on condition of anonymity.

For ultra-long routes, airlines often roster a third or even fourth pilot so that one can rest while others fly. But that comes at a cost.

“Instead of extending duty hours, airlines can simply roster a third or fourth pilot, so that someone can rest during the flight. But they don’t want to do that because it costs more. Two pilots are cheaper than paying an additional augmented crew,” the pilot added.

In other words, the debate isn’t just about time — it’s about cost and control. Longer permissible hours mean fewer pilots per flight, more “productive” hours on paper, and reduced scheduling constraints for airlines.

“If my employment contract defines a specific number of working hours, and I’ve agreed to that at the time of joining, any increase could trigger legal and operational issues. It’s not just about longer work — it’s about fatigue and consent. If I’m forced to concede to extended hours, I’ll end up feeling disgruntled, and no passenger would want a disgruntled pilot handling something as critical as flight safety,” Sinha said.

The Regulator’s Stand

The DGCA maintains that the change doesn’t compromise safety and that any changes were made after reviewing operational data.

When asked if it’s up to airlines to decide whether to adopt the new limits, Kidwai clarified that it isn’t.

“The airlines will be implementing the time extension. It's not dependent on them, it's a directive where the airlines have sought certain relaxations, which on a case-by-case basis we have given, not on everything,” he said.

In other words, while the rule change comes from the regulator, some airlines had earlier sought flexibility in duty-time norms — particularly for long-haul operations. The DGCA says those requests were evaluated individually and approved only in select cases, rather than applied uniformly across all airlines or flights.

But for pilots, such incremental relaxations chip away at the very framework meant to protect them.

“In a month, the maximum duty extension a pilot can take is three hours — and in one instance, it can’t exceed one and a half hours. Duty extensions are typically used when flights get delayed due to weather or other factors,” the pilot said.

“Say my duty ends at 10 p.m., but I’m still in the air because of bad weather — once we land, we file for an extension, giving our consent that we were fit to continue. So imagine, adding even an hour to a pilot’s duty every day — it’s not just tiring, it directly affects safety,” the pilot added.

Experts also caution that extending flight duty hours without broader consultation could have unintended consequences. They argue that while operational flexibility may help airlines manage disruptions or longer routes, it cannot come at the cost of safety.

“Safety is a real concern, and the DGCA is well aware of that. Both the regulator and the airlines know that every change must be made keeping its safety impact in mind — and this particular change will definitely have an impact,” Sinha said.

No Extra Pay — Just Extra Fatigue

Ironically, the longer hours don’t even translate into higher pay for pilots.

“Pilots are paid only for flight time — from chocks off to chocks on. So, even if our total duty lasts eight hours and we fly only two, we are paid for those two hours. There’s no financial gain for pilots — just longer hours and more fatigue,” said the pilot.

This reactionary approach that has come from the pilots’ association say that any increase in duty hours needs to be justified from a safety standpoint.

“And rightly so — there will always be concerns from the other side when people feel taken for granted. If duty hours are being extended, how are pilots being compensated? We talk about 30 extra minutes, but that entire extension should fall under payroll. What will that do to airline costs, and are carriers prepared to take that hit?” Sinha added.

That economic imbalance, pilots argue, gives airlines every incentive to stretch duty times instead of hiring or rostering more crew.

What Happens Next

Fatigue, they point out, doesn’t announce itself dramatically. It builds silently — during long layovers, irregular sleep cycles, night departures, or multiple time zones. Add 30 minutes at the end of an already long day, and it can tip that balance.

Regulators argue that the revised limits are still within safety margins. Pilots disagree. Their fear isn’t just that fatigue will increase, but that it will normalise — that longer hours today will make even longer ones tomorrow seem reasonable.

ALPA India says it’s not backing down. “We’ve clearly communicated our concerns to the government. We’ve also informed our parent organisation, ALPA. If needed, we will escalate this further — even write to all countries that Air India overflies, to make them aware of what’s happening. No regulator wants unsafe operations in their airspace,” Thomas said.

Whether the DGCA reconsiders or doubles down, the issue has spotlighted a deeper tension in Indian aviation — between operational efficiency and human endurance.

Every extra minute in the air may seem like a small adjustment, but as pilots warn, those minutes often fall in the narrowest margin of safety. And up there, at 35,000 feet, “just half an hour more” can make all the difference.

Author:   Zinal Dedhia

India’s aviation regulator has extended pilots’ duty hours by up to an hour — a small tweak that pilots warn could endanger safety.

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