Major Airlines Oppose Draft Cabin Crew Rest Norms, Seek Global Alignment
New Delhi, Feb 11, KNT: India’s leading airlines IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet have opposed the draft Cabin Crew Flight Duty Time Limitations norms proposed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, terming them more restrictive than prevailing global standards and cautioning that they could constrain operational flexibility.
The DGCA had issued draft Civil Aviation Requirements in October 2025 on cabin crew flight duty time limitations, initiating consultations with industry stakeholders. The Federation of Indian Airlines, representing the three carriers, has urged the regulator to adopt globally harmonised and evidence-based provisions that are operationally practical.
In its submission, the FIA argued that the Flight Duty Period should remain the principal metric for managing fatigue, rather than direct linkage to cumulative caps or number of landings. The grouping stated that duty and rest regulations should emphasise flight duty period and minimum rest requirements, without rigid cumulative ceilings that may not account for varied operational patterns.
The airlines maintained that the draft framework appears more stringent than international benchmarks and does not sufficiently factor in the diversity of operations across routes and fleet types.
On accommodation norms for cabin crew, the FIA suggested that focus should be placed on ensuring quality rest, allowing flexibility such as twin-sharing arrangements under defined operator guidelines. The carriers noted that global fatigue management frameworks emphasise adequate rest opportunity and alignment with circadian rhythms rather than solely the physical location of rest.
The development comes amid ongoing discussions over revised flight duty time norms for pilots, implementation of which has faced legal scrutiny and operational challenges in recent months. [KNT]
