New Delhi—The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) on Sunday formally lodged a protest with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) over the recent extension of the Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) for two-man flight crews operating the Boeing 787 aircraft.
The association expressed “grave operational and safety concern” regarding the DGCA’s decision to increase the Flight Time (FT) from 10 hours to 10 hours and 30 minutes, and the Flight Duty Period (FDP) from 13 hours to 14 hours.
In its letter, seen by HT, ALPA-India contended that the existing 10-hour limit is already at the “upper threshold of safe fatigue management.” The body further criticized the DGCA for prioritizing the “convenience of flight operators and commercial airlines” over flight safety.
The pilots’ group also highlighted a recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) directive (FAA-2024-0218) that has restricted the captain’s seat recline function on the Boeing 787 due to safety concerns. According to the association, this seat recline limitation has “reduced the effectiveness of in-flight rest” and directly and severely impacted crew rest quality on long sectors.
“Airlines across the world have decided to provide additional operating crew owing to this new directive, in order to mitigate the increased fatigue risk,” the letter stated. “In sharp contrast, it is deeply concerning that the DGCA has chosen to extend the FDTL for 2-man crew operations on B787.”
The association stressed that the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) on FDTL was based on “extensive research and scientific study on human fatigue and its operational consequences,” aligning with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommendations. It also noted that there is no pilot shortage in the country that would necessitate the FTDL extension.