By Admin 
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is now in the court docket on allegations of not implementing safety rules regarding pilot fatigue. Delhi High Court can hear the contempt petition of Federation of Indian Pilots on 15 December. In the petition, DGCA has been seriously accused of deliberately disobeying the clear and binding orders of the court.
Claim of Federation of Indian Pilots FDTL rules not implemented
The Federation of Indian Pilots claims that non-proper implementation of flight and duty time limitation rules has directly affected the safety of passengers. According to the pilots organization, this negligence became the main reason for the aviation crisis that has been going on for the past one week, due to which big airlines like IndiGo had to face operational crisis and thousands of flights across the country were canceled or delayed.
Federation of Indian Pilots DGCA accused of
In the petition filed in the Delhi High Court, it has been said that the DGCA had assured the High Court this year that the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) 2024 would be implemented on time, but on the contrary, the airlines were given the freedom to relax the rules and extend the time. All this was done without the permission of the court, whereas it was promised that the rules would be fully implemented by November 1. FIP alleged that the FDTL framework prepared by the airlines does not match the standards on which the DGCA had agreed before the High Court in April 2025. This has been described as a direct disobedience of the court’s orders.
Pilots and crew present in sufficient numbers – Pilot Organization
The pilot organization has also completely rejected the claim of shortage of pilots in the Delhi High Court. It has been said in the petition that there are sufficient number of pilots and crew present in the sector, but the airlines are not putting them on duty at full capacity. Despite pilots being available for regular roster duties, they are being placed on flexible contracts with limited flying hours. During the hearing held last month, the High Court had allowed FIP to file additional documents and made it clear that if the orders are not followed, strict action can be taken for contempt.
Delhi High Court car Orders were given even before implementation of 2024
The Delhi High Court had earlier cleared the way for the implementation of CAR 2024 by disposing of the petitions of pilot organizations and directed the airlines to submit their FDTL plans to the DGCA within three weeks. The court had clearly said that ignoring the rules will not be accepted in future. The government had assured the court that the new FDTL rules would be implemented in a phased manner. At the same time, 15 provisions will be implemented from July 1, 2025 and the remaining 7 provisions will be implemented from November 1, 2025. Now DGCA will have to answer before the court on the implementation of these promises and orders.
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