Aviation regulator DGCA has come out with separate rules governing flight duty time limitations for air hostesses and stewards of all airlines and non-scheduled operators. The rules, which would be binding on all air operators and cabin crew, specify the flight timings, the flight duty and rest periods for the cabin crew of both domestic and international flights, official sources said.
The new Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) is based on the International Civil Aviation Organisation requirements under which signatory nations have to frame regulations specifying flight time limits, flight duty period and rest periods for the cabin crew.The rules would be applicable to all airlines, private charters, business aviators and other non-scheduled operators.The working patterns of the cabin crew are different than those of the cockpit crew. The cabin crew work longer hours and are trained for and required to assist in cases of an aircraft emergency, the sources said. Besides emergency evacuation from an aircraft, they are the "in-flight first responders" who are trained to handle smoke and fire incidents and attend to medical emergencies like a heart attack on board a flightThe new CAR makes it mandatory for the operator to ensure that a cabin crew member would not operate an aeroplane "if it is known or suspected" that he or she was fatigued.