New flight duty time regulations: 20 per cent more pilots needed

Mumbai: The new Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) for Flight Duty Time and Flight Time Limitation (FDTL) would mean, among other things, more rest period for pilots between flights, less flying time for pilots holding managerial positions, more rest period for pilots operating at night, pre-scheduled weekly offs and so on.
“Airlines would need 20% more pilots if the new CAR has to be implemented,” says Capt Mohan Ranganathan, a Boeing 737 instructor pilot.
A Jet Airways spokesperson said that the airline would honour the August 16 deadline. An IndiGo spokesperson said they had started the process. Some private airlines preferred not to comment.
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Download the new Civil Aviation Requirements
(CAR) for Flight Duty Time and Flight Time
Limitation (FDTL) here
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“If airlines try to do away with the new FDTL, then we will move the court along with DGCA for its implementation,” said Capt R S Otaal, general secretary of the Indian Commercial Pilots Association.
The FDTL followed in India is over 50 years old and does not take into account any of the recent research on pilot fatigue. For instance, studies conducted by the US National Transportation Safety Board showed that pilot fatigue was the main cause of over 70% of air accidents.
According to the new FDTL, which takes into account circadian rhythms (the sleep/wake cycle), after a duty of 11 hours (maximum flying time eight hours), a pilot should get a ten-hour rest period and two hours as transportation time between the airport and home/hotel.
Currently, the minimum rest period between two duty periods is eight hours or double the flying time, whichever is greater.
07/08/07 Times of India