Delhi HC asks DGCA to reply to contempt plea of pilots’ body

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought a response of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on a plea by the Indian Pilots Guild seeking contempt action against authorities for allegedly not fully implementing the new flight duty time limitation norms approved by the court earlier this year.

The plea alleged that airlines were granted extensions and relations in pilot fatigue management rules in violation of the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) 2024 framework.

Justice Amit Sharma issued notice to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on the Indian Pilots Guild’s contempt petition and asked it to file a response.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on April 17.

The association, in its plea, sought initiation of contempt proceedings against the authorities for their alleged willful and deliberate non-compliance with the court’s earlier orders.

It said the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms were meant to address fatigue management of the flying crew, however, by granting variations, exemptions and relaxations to the airlines, DGCA has defied the undertaking and directions of the High Court and also jeopardised the flight and passenger safety.

“By approving non-compliant FDTL schemes and granting variations, exemptions and relaxations to the airlines, the actions of the respondents in the implementation of the FDTL CAR constitute willful non- compliance of the directions of this court...,” the plea said.

DGCA’s counsel opposed the contempt plea, saying the court had not frozen the contents of the CAR.

While implementation timelines were binding, the regulator retained statutory powers under the Aircraft Act and Rules to grant temporary, case-specific exemptions. DGCA’s counsel argued that such relaxations were limited, subject to review, and that the CAR remains in force.

Earlier this year, DGCA, in its affidavit before the High Court in another matter, said the new FDTL norms will be implemented in a phased manner. Of the 22 proposed clauses, 15 were implemented from July 1 and the remaining are to be effective from November 1, 2025.

The watchdog’s revised CAR 2024 related to the FDTL provides for more rest time for pilots amid concerns over pilot fatigue. Initially, the new norms were to come into force from June 1, 2024.

The court’s decision followed pleas filed by the Indian Commercial Pilots Association, Indian Pilots Guild and the Federation of Indian Pilots relating to the regulator’s revised FDTL norms.