No airline exempt from weekly rest rules for pilots, aviation regulator tells Delhi HC

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation told the Delhi High Court on Friday that weekly rest for pilots is non-negotiable and that no airline has been granted any exemption from this requirement, Bar and Bench reported.

Appearing before a division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, counsel for the aviation regulator said that the mandate on weekly rest continues to operate and has not been withdrawn.

The aviation regulator was responding to a petition challenging its decision to suspend the new flight duty-time norms after large-scale disruptions to airline services in December.

In January 2024, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued revised Flight Duty Time Limit norms after concerns were raised about pilot fatigue. The norms were meant to take effect on June 1.

However, airlines asked for delayed implementation because of staffing shortages and operational challenges, and the key changes were eventually introduced on November 1.

The new rules required longer weekly rest, restricted night landings, extended the definition of night hours and limited consecutive night duties.

As the revised norms came into force, air travel was severely affected in December when a shortage of pilots and crew forced IndiGo to cancel or delay hundreds of flights. The disruption also pushed fares to unusually high rates on several routes.

To reduce air travel disruptions, the aviation regulator temporarily placed the new flight duty-time norms in abeyance. It also granted exemptions to airlines until early February 2026 while they make sufficient adjustments to their roster to accommodate new government regulations.

On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court sought the stand of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on a petition challenging the suspension of the norms.

In its response on Friday, the regulator stated that no exemption had been given to any airline on weekly rest and that the rule could not be tampered with, Bar and Bench reported.

The regulator’s counsel clarified that a limited and time-bound relaxation had been granted to IndiGo airlines for night operations. The exemption will remain in force until February 10.

The counsel added that even after certain provisions of the Flight Duty Time Limitation norms were placed in abeyance on December 5, weekly rest for pilots continued to be mandatory under existing Civil Aviation Requirements, The Telegraph reported.

The court then issued notice to the Union government, the aviation regulator and Indigo and sought their responses on the matter.

The case was posted for further hearing in April, The Telegraph reported.

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