New Delhi, Dec 5 (UNI) The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has accepted Indigo’s request for relaxation in rules related to pilot night duty after a large number of the airline’s domestic flights were cancelled.
In the approval issued by the DGCA on Friday, it stated that Indigo has been granted exemption from two provisions of the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) until February 10, 2026.
For Indigo, night duty will now be considered from 12 midnight to 5 am until February 10. Under existing rules, night duty is defined as from 12 midnight to 6 am.
Additionally, rules state that for duty that begins outside night-duty hours but continues into night duty, the maximum flight time can be eight hours and the maximum duty time can be 10 hours. During this period, a pilot can carry out a maximum of two landings. Indigo has been granted exemption from this rule as well.
Indigo will submit a report every 15 days detailing crew working hours, steps taken to increase the number of crew members, and improvements in operations. The DGCA will review this exemption every 15 days.
The airline will also submit, within 30 days, a roadmap to ensure full compliance with FDTL. It must fully adhere to all other FDTL rules.
Earlier on Friday, the DGCA had made partial changes to FDTL applicable to all airlines. This included withdrawing the prohibition that prevented combining a pilot’s mandatory 48-hour weekly rest period with a weekly day off.
DGCA grants IndiGo relaxation in night-duty rules for pilots
