Landmark judgment: Court strikes down stretched duty hours for pilots

Mandates DGCA to come out with a regulation in one year

In a landmark judgment, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday struck down a law which allowed commercial airline operators to change stipulated working hours for pilots. The ruling can have wide ramifications over pilots’ working hours in India and will require airlines to change the work pattern for their pilots.

The ruling came after a petition filed by a Kerala-based lawyer Yeshwanth Shenoy alleged that Indian aviation regulator DGCA’s law regarding Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) violated rules, as it allowed airline companies to stretch the duty hours of pilots resulting into fatigue to them.

“The court has asked DGCA