Aviation regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted a temporary relaxation in pilot duty time limits for Air India’s long-haul flights as the airline reroutes services due to airspace restrictions in parts of West Asia.
The DGCA has allowed limited extensions to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) for two-pilot operations until April 30, according to an internal flight operations circular issued by Air India. In the circular dated March 13, Air India said the unavailability of Iranian and Iraqi airspace had led to “mandatory rerouting of certain long-haul flights which are now being operated through alternate corridors”. The airline said the changes had increased sector flight times and required temporary adjustments to duty limits to minimise schedule disruptions and passenger inconvenience.
The airline has been operating many of these services via Oman, southern Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The longer routes have increased flying times for several international sectors.
Under the temporary dispensation, the airline said the permissible Flight Time (FT) for two-pilot operations can be extended by 1 hour 30 minutes, raising the maximum limit to 11 hours 30 minutes.
The Flight Duty Period (FDP) can be extended by 1 hour 45 minutes, allowing a maximum duty period of 14 hours 45 minutes. According to a report by news agency PTI, Air India had scheduled a Jeddah flight with a duty period of about 11 hours 55 minutes, which would exceed the relaxation by around 10 minutes.
Flight time refers to the period from when an aircraft first moves for take-off until it comes to rest at the end of the flight. The flight duty period begins when a crew member reports for duty and ends after the engines are shut down at the end of the final flight.
The circular also grants a temporary exemption from the 30-minute roster planning buffer requirement prescribed under Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 7, Series J, Part III for certain flights.
The relaxation will, however, only apply to specific flights, with the details to be communicated through fleet-specific company Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs).
Certain mitigation measures will be followed during the exemption period, including continuous monitoring and review with the regulator and briefing of flight crews on the temporary provisions. It also said pilots operating flights under the exemption will receive an additional rest period of four hours, over and above the minimum rest prescribed under CAR.
The pilots’ body also said research referenced in international fatigue management guidance shows that alertness and cognitive performance decline when duty periods approach or exceed 13 hours. It also noted that extended duty periods combined with operational workload and circadian disruptions could increase fatigue-related risks.
However, the implementation of the revised norms also triggered operational challenges for airlines. In December 2025, IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights after struggling to align crew rosters with the stricter norms. At the peak of the disruption, about 1,600 flights were cancelled in a single day on December 5.
The DGCA provided the airline a temporary exemption from some provisions until February 10, 2026. Following an investigation, the regulator imposed a penalty of about Rs 22.2 crore on the airline for the disruptions.
First Published: Mar 16, 2026, 16:42
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