• That no crew member on a domestic flight should make more than five landings in any 24 consecutive hours. Earlier, six landings were permitted.

In addition to the rest based upon their flying in 24 consecutive hours, DGCA also wants airlines to ensure that all pilots are given a weekly 24-hour rest (encompassing a period between 2300 hours and 0500 hours) to ensure a proper night's sleep.

Further, the new CARs propose to provide additional hours of rest everytime a flight crew exceeds the FDTLs and FTLs. According to the DGCA, a crew should be compensated with six hours of additional rest if they exceed these limitations by upto an hour, 12 hours for exceeding limits between 1-2 hours and 16 hours additional rest for exceeding the limitations between 2-3 hours.

“By allowing an increase in FDT by an hour and FT by five hours a week, the government may enable the airlines to optimise the services of their pilots. However, fatigue is a major area of concern and should be taken care of,” a private airline pilot said.