DGCA may give waiver to IndiGo from new pilot rest rules

Civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is likely to give partial waiver to IndiGo from implementing the new pilot rest duty rules following the meltdown at IndiGo which has forced it to cancel over thousand flights in the next few days.

IndiGo, which has more than 60% share of India’s domestic market, plummeted to one of its worst crisis as it was left with shortage of pilots following the roll out of the new norms.

The rules were implemented in two parts, one in June and the second phase from 1 November which capped the number of landings a pilot can perform between 12 am and 6 am. The second phase was delayed by the government by a year to help airlines plan their crew requirement as they had warned of widespread flight cancellations. Though IndiGo and other airlines lobbied intensely to postpone it further, the regulator enforced them with only limited relaxations under a mandate of Delhi High Court.

“IndiGo has been given a temporary waiver till they settle their operations. The airline has been asked to give a mitigation plan and commitment to fix this,” a person aware of the development said.

People involved in the airline’s operations blamed poor planning as the reason. The airline, they said, assumed DGCA would grant more time to implement the rules, and hence neither hired adequately nor accelerated training, leaving pilots stretched thin through frequent reassignments, longer workdays and extended deadheading where they travel as passengers to operate flights at another location.

“IndiGo has always maintained around four percent crew as a buffer for extraordinary situations. With increased crew requirement due to the new rules, now it is zero. That the rules would take effect from November was known to all. Not planning accordingly was a strategic mistake,” an official involved in crew planning said.

The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA), a lobby group for pilots, had earlier said that IndiGo’s flight cancellations could be a pressure tactic to weaken the new rules. “Despite sufficient time being accorded, most airlines started preparing rather late, failing to properly adjust crew rosters 15 days in advance as required,” ALPA said.