Plea in Delhi HC against 1 yr notice period rule of DGCA

A plea was today moved in the Delhi High Court challenging the DGCA's decision that senior pilots have to serve a 12-month notice period before quitting an airline and shifting to another.
The petition by the Indian Pilots Guild, representing senior Air India pilots who operate widebody aircraft, was mentioned before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra for an urgent hearing tomorrow.
The bench, however, said there was no urgency in the matter and it will be listed for hearing in the normal course.
The petition, mentioned by advocate Kaushiq, challenges the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) rules announced on August 16 saying that pilots shall give a notice period of at least one year in respect of commanders and six months in respect of co-pilots, to the employer.

The notice period, however, may be reduced if the air transport undertaking provides a no-objection certificate to a pilot and accepts his resignation earlier than the period stipulated in the amended rules, as per the amended Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR).
"During the notice period, neither the pilot shall refuse to undertake the flight duties assigned to him, nor shall the employer deprive the pilot of his legitimate rights and privileges with respect to the assignment of his duties," the DGCA had said on August 16.
The DGCA had mooted the proposal of one-year notice period in May after various domestic airlines, under the banner of Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), had urged it to increase the notice period to one year arguing that they put in a lot of time and effort on training them.

Various domestic pilots' bodies had, however, opposed the proposal on the ground that it was "exploitative" as longer notice period would mean airlines can be "vindictive" to those quitting.