'Dangerous precedent': ALPA India slams DGCA's 'selective, unsafe' breather to IndiGo

Mumbai: Pilots' body Airlines' Pilots Association (ALPA) India on Friday took "strong" objection to safety regulator DGCA's "selective and unsafe" relief to domestic carrier IndiGo, amid widescale cancellations, saying the decision sets a dangerous precedent.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) earlier in the day granted IndiGo temporary exemption from stricter night duty rules for pilots.

In a letter to the DGCA on Friday, ALPA-India said the decision not only sets a "dangerous precedent" but also undermines the very principle and purpose of the civil aviation requirement under which the norms have been formulated.

It also said on the pretext of passenger inconvenience, IndiGo is seeking relief despite having knowingly increased their winter operations while being fully aware of the implementation of the second phase of the pilots' flight duty and rest period norms.

ALPA India had on Wednesday alleged that this (IndiGo cancelling huge number of flights) situation points to a "failure of proactive resource planning by dominant airlines, potentially exacerbated by an effort to pressurise the regulator to dilute the new FDTL norms for commercial gain".

And on Thursday, the DGCA in a statement said it has directed the airline to submit the flight duty time limitation (FDTL) relaxations required to normalise the flight operations, after the airline informed the regulator that "it was facing significant transitional challenges in roster planning and crew availability under phase-2 FDTL requirement".

IndiGo was the first carrier to oppose the new FDTL norms for pilots when they were introduced in January 2024 with March 2024 as the timeline for implementation.

The latest FDTL norms, which entail increased weekly rest periods to 48 hours, extended night hours, and limiting the number of night landings to only two, as against six earlier, were initially also opposed by domestic airlines, including IndiGo and Tata Group-owned Air India.

But they were subsequently rolled out by the DGCA following the Delhi High Court's directives, albeit with a delay of over one year, in a phased manner, and with certain variations for airlines like IndiGo and Air India.

While the first phase of these FDTL norms came into force in July, the second phase, which reduced the number of night landings from six to two earlier, was implemented from November 1.

"By granting selective exemptions to IndiGo, the DGCA has opened the door for all other operators to cite their own operational, commercial, or scheduling reasons to demand similar dispensations," ALPA India said in its Friday statement.

"It also said that if dispensations can be granted based on each operator's requirements, then the relevance, authority, and intent of the FDTL CAR is defeated entirely."

Stating that the decision has been taken despite repeated representations, formal letters, and direct discussions with the DGCA office, ALPA India said, "During our meeting on November 24, it was unequivocally agreed that no dispensation, exemption, or variation, particularly those motivated by commercial interests would be granted to any operator."

"The consensus was clear: FDTL norms exist solely to safeguard human life, and any dilution of these limits would expose pilots, passengers, and aircraft to unacceptable risks. Yet, in complete contradiction to this understanding, your office has extended selective dispensation to IndiGo for Phase II implementation, allowing them to operate beyond the safety envelope prescribed by the CAR," it said.

Interestingly, at the time of implementation of these regulations, then Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had said "these changes -- that are very much in line with international best practices -- will ensure India has the necessary arsenal, as it prepares to clinch the largest domestic aviation market title in the future."

"What is even more alarming is that Phase II itself already includes many dispensations tailor made to the operators selectively, intended as a transitional relaxation to assist operators. Despite this built-in relief, your office has granted further selective dispensations exclusively to IndiGo, creating a situation where an operator already benefiting from relaxed provisions is given additional layers of relaxation on top of it, without any safety justification. Such a precedent is not only indefensible but also dangerous," the pilots body said.