DGCA Rule Withdrawn: The problems related to IndiGo Airlines, which were troubling the passengers across the country for the last two days, are now about to come to an end. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken a big step to end the crisis caused by continuous cancellations and delays of flights.
DGCA has withdrawn one of its orders related to crew rostering with immediate effect. After the brouhaha in this matter, it has come to light that Minister of State for Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu had informed the entire matter to Home Minister Amit Shah. Just after this, DGCA has given great relief to both airlines and passengers by taking this decision.
What was the controversial rule that was withdrawn?
In fact, DGCA had recently implemented a provision which had created major problems in the rostering of airline crew members. In DGCA’s letter dated 20.01.2025, it was directed that weekly rest (Weekly Rest) No leave will be substituted in lieu of.
Simply put, if a crew member has a weekly rest day, the airline could not offer them any other leave option in lieu of that rest day. Due to this rule, it became difficult for airlines to make correct roster of crew and ensure availability of staff, due to which flights started getting canceled due to shortage of crew.
DGCA has now reviewed this provision and withdrawn it. This order has been issued with the approval of the Competent Authority and it has come into effect with immediate effect.
Why did this decision have to be taken?
DGCA was continuously receiving applications from many airlines that this rule was badly affecting their operational efficiency. Apart from this, the incidents of continuous delay and cancellation of Indigo flights for the last two days had increased the problems of the passengers. DGCA clarified that in view of the ongoing operational disruptions, it was necessary to ensure continuity and stability of flight operations. Therefore, this provision was reviewed.
Whom did IndiGo hold responsible?
Indigo Airline had given three main reasons behind the cancellation of flights. First technical glitch, second bad weather and new crew rostering rules FDTL. The airline said that the Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) rules, which came into effect from November 1, have increased their pilot and crew shortage, as these rules limit the working hours of pilots and mandate long rest periods.
However, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) had argued that these rules do not seem to have any significant impact on other airlines, so it is not right to blame FDTL alone.
What were the new rules of FDTL?
The new rules of Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) came into effect from 1 November. Its purpose was to reduce crew fatigue. Under these rules, the weekly rest period for pilots was increased to 48 hours, night duty hours were extended and the most significant change was that the number of landings a pilot could make between midnight and 6 am in a week was reduced from six to just two, which had a direct impact on crew availability and airlines faced difficulties in rostering. Due to this, thousands of IndiGo flights were cancelled.
