Safety at risk if India doesn't restore pilot rest rules, warns global pilots union

The head of the global pilots union group IFALP has called for India to restore recently relaxed pilot rest regulations, warning that fatigue poses a serious safety risk.

India's aviation regulator eased the rules after a wave of flight cancellations by the country's largest carrier IndiGo, which holds about 65 per cent of the domestic market. The airline admitted it had failed to adequately prepare for the November 1 rollout of stricter norms governing night flying and weekly rest.

That lack of planning triggered at least 2,000 flight cancellations in November, disrupting travel for tens of thousands of passengers, ruining holiday plans and weddings, and prompting anger over lost baggage and delays.

On Friday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation granted IndiGo a one-time exemption from the night-duty regulation and withdrew a clause that had prevented airlines from counting pilot leave as part of weekly rest. IFALPA, however, has warned that relaxing such standards undermines safety and should be reversed.

Captain Ron Hay, president of the Montreal-based International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA), said India's decision to grant the exemption to the rest rules was concerning because it was not based on scientific evidence.  "We are informed that the change is due to staffing issues," he told Reuters. "This is troubling as fatigue clearly affects safety."

Hay warned the government's decision could also exacerbate staffing issues, given that working conditions account for one of the reasons pilots depart airlines based in the country.

India's civil aviation ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

More specific global pilot fatigue standard sought
Hay's comments come as IFALPA is pushing for a more specific global standard that would combat pilot fatigue evenly across regions, as aviators in other countries also press back against exemptions.

Under the UN aviation agency's global standard, each country can set its own duty-time limits using scientific knowledge and operational experience. The result is there are still regional differences, with some of the most robust systems to promote pilot rest found in Europe and the United States, Hay said. 

In Canada, the Air Line Pilots Association said the country's regulator has proposed exemptions to science-based duty-time regulations. 

For example, one proposed exemption from Transport Canada would allow pilots to work up to 23 days in a row rather than having a day off per week, ALPA Canada President Captain Tim Perry said in an interview. "If adopted we would have more pilots fatigued, more often, and with worse fatigue symptoms, all to the detriment of air safety," he said.