Air India 787 Pilots Face Longer Duty Hours As Dgca Extends Flight Time For European Routes: What You Need To Know

Published on November 2, 2025

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s aviation regulator, has precocious defended its determination to assistance Air India a impermanent hold of formation work hours for its Boeing 787 Dreamliner pilots. The determination has sparked a heated statement betwixt nan regulator and pilots’ unions, peculiarly nan Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA India), which has raised concerns astir imaginable information risks.

This extension, granted for flights operating connected European routes, comes amid operational challenges, including nan closure of Pakistan’s airspace. While nan DGCA has justified nan move arsenic basal for maintaining formation schedules and operational efficiency, ALPA India argues that nan hold could summation nan consequence of fatigue-induced errors, which could endanger rider safety.

The Duty-Hour Extension Explained

The caller alteration allows Air India pilots flying Boeing 787 Dreamliners to activity for longer hours than antecedently permitted. The Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) for these flights has been extended from 10 hours to 10 hours and 30 minutes, while nan Flight Duty Period (FDP) has been accrued from 13 hours to 14 hours.

The cardinal quality betwixt FDTL and FDP is that FDTL refers to nan maximum clip a aviator tin fly, while FDP refers to nan full long from erstwhile a aviator starts their work until nan formation concludes. According to nan DGCA, these changes only use erstwhile work periods widen aft departure, not during formation planning.

The hold has been applied specifically to flights connected European routes that person been affected by Pakistan’s airspace closure. This alteration is expected to thief mitigate disruptions caused by longer formation paths.

Operational Reasons for nan Extension

The DGCA has explained that nan hold was granted owed to operational reasons tied to caller changes successful aerial postulation routes. Pakistan’s airspace closure has forced airlines to find alternate routes, galore of which are longer than usual. Additionally, location are concerns complete changing upwind patterns during nan wintertime months, which could besides summation formation times connected circumstantial routes.

Given these operational challenges, nan DGCA felt it was basal to assistance nan hold to guarantee that Air India could proceed to meet its formation schedules without compromising connected rider convenience. The hold applies to conscionable 9 circumstantial Dreamliner flights connected European routes, and nan DGCA has emphasized that it is simply a impermanent measure.

Fatigue Concerns Raised by ALPA India

ALPA India has been vocal successful its guidance to nan extension, citing nan risks posed by fatigue. The pilots’ assemblage has warned that longer work hours could summation nan likelihood of fatigue, which is simply a important facet successful aviation safety. ALPA India argues that nan DGCA’s determination to prioritize operational needs complete aviator remainder could lead to fatigue-induced errors that could jeopardize formation safety.

The association’s interest centers astir nan anticipation of pilots becoming overworked during long-haul flights. With extended hours successful nan cockpit, nan consequence of mistakes owed to tiredness becomes a superior consideration. ALPA India is urging nan DGCA to revoke this exemption to support nan attraction connected information supra each else.

In consequence to these concerns, nan DGCA has assured that nan exemption comes pinch a group of fatigue-mitigation measures. These see submitting monthly fatigue reports and ensuring that nary training flights are conducted nether nan caller exemption. Additionally, pilots will beryllium fixed an other hr of remainder to thief alleviate nan effects of nan extended work hours.

Safety Measures to Mitigate Fatigue

Despite nan extended hours, nan DGCA has outlined respective information measures to mitigate nan consequence of fatigue. Operators must supply monthly fatigue reports, which will beryllium monitored to guarantee that pilots are not being overworked. The regulator has besides mandated that nary training flights beryllium conducted nether this exemption, ensuring that only operational flights are affected.

Furthermore, pilots will beryllium fixed an further hr of remainder earlier starting their duties. This further remainder clip is expected to thief pilots amended negociate nan extended work hours and trim nan likelihood of fatigue. These measures are portion of nan DGCA’s committedness to maintaining formation information while accommodating nan operational needs of airlines for illustration Air India.

The Federation of Indian Pilots’ (FIP) Stance

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), different salient pilots’ body, has taken a different attack to this issue, accusing nan DGCA of non-compliance pinch erstwhile tribunal orders. The FIP claims that nan regulator’s relaxation of duty-hour limits violates nan conditions group distant successful its ain affidavit to nan Delhi High Court.

The rumor revolves astir nan DGCA’s determination to relax nighttime work limits for pilots, which FIP argues goes against nan regulator’s anterior undertakings to nan court. FIP’s accusation of “willful disobedience” suggests a superior disagreement betwixt nan regulator and pilots’ organizations regarding nan information implications of specified decisions.

FIP’s disapproval adds a furniture of complexity to nan debate, arsenic it not only questions nan information of nan extended work hours but besides nan DGCA’s adherence to ineligible obligations. This conflict highlights nan ongoing hostility betwixt operational elasticity and nan request for strict information oversight successful nan aviation industry.

One-Time Approval for Nine Flights Only

It is important to statement that nan DGCA’s hold of work hours is not a broad support for each Air India flights. The relaxation applies solely to 9 circumstantial Dreamliner flights operating connected European routes, and it is designed to reside nan challenges caused by longer formation paths owed to nan closure of Pakistan’s airspace.

The DGCA has emphasized that this exemption is simply a one-time approval, granted only for nan wintertime schedule and nether circumstantial operational circumstances. The regulator has besides stressed that information oversight requirements person been cautiously considered successful issuing nan exemption, ensuring that nan determination does not discuss rider safety.

Future Implications for Air India and Other Airlines

While this duty-hour hold is circumstantial to Air India and its Boeing 787 operations, it raises important questions astir really nan aviation manufacture manages aviator fatigue and work hours. The determination by nan DGCA could group a precedent for different airlines facing akin operational challenges, peculiarly successful ray of changing aerial postulation patterns and imaginable disruptions caused by outer factors for illustration airspace closures.

As aviation continues to germinate and airlines are required to accommodate to caller challenges, nan equilibrium betwixt operational needs and information will stay a captious issue. Pilots’ unions for illustration ALPA India and FIP will proceed to advocator for regulations that prioritize safety, ensuring that pilots are not overworked and are well-rested during their flights.

Conclusion: Prioritizing Safety Amid Operational Challenges

Recently, nan DGCA having Air India Pilots connected definite European routes accrued their work hours. This raised nan mobility of formation information owed to aviator fatigue. While Air India operators are managing their flights pinch nan challenges of Pakistan closing nan aerial space, pilots are still concerned astir nan information of nan flights pinch nan extended work hours.

With information being nan privilege pinch extended work hours nan DGCA has to trim nan operational flexibility. With operational elasticity location seems to beryllium an summation of fatigue pinch nan pilots. This operational elasticity does trim nan pilots fatigue pinch accrued remainder periods. This operational fatigue owed to nan caller operational unit successful nan aviation manufacture is nan caller normal successful nan industry.

Right now pinch Air India having extended their pilots work hours nan hose is still safe to fly. Airline is safe to alert arsenic information is nan first privilege pinch Air India arsenic they will ever make nan basal adjustments to their operational strategies. With nan accrued challenges successful nan aerial operational strategies will safely beryllium adjusted to support Air India safe and still alert progressive Air India flights.