The proposed norms for flight duty time are "ill-conceived" and "potentially disastrous" for air safety, Air India and Jet Airways' pilot unions today said, wondering on whose behest the rules were made.
Coming out strongly against the draft Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) issued by aviation regulator DGCA in this regard, the groupings alleged that the proposals were not based on scientific principles.
Earlier this month, DGCA came out with draft CAR on Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) proposing strict action against pilots reporting late for duty as well as falsely claiming to be sick despite being rostered.
Response to the CAR has been jointly submitted by Air India pilots' bodies -- Indian Pilots' Guild, Indian Commercial Pilots' Association -- along with Jet Airways' pilots union, National Aviator's Guild.
The groupings have submitted a strongly-worded six-page letter to the regulator, Civil Aviation Ministry and the Ministers, among others.
The deadline for stakeholders' comments on the CAR ends tomorrow.
While mentioning that they were "utterly astonished and dismayed" with the draft CAR, the groupings said the proposals would greatly imperil air safety.
"We are also deeply concerned that such an ill-conceived and potentially disastrous set of regulations may have a very negative impact on India's global image and create adverse international regulatory and consumer opinion," it added.
It alleged that irregular and last minute rostering have become the norm, especially for short haul flights.
"We would have expected the DGCA as the national regulatory body for the industry to have acted against this rampant practice of the airlines, in public interest, rather than proposing changes which will pressurise pilots who are in fact, not fit to risk flying," it said.
According to the groupings, the draft proposals that seek to force a pilot to be available any time the dynamic roster permits, is not based on any scientific principles and would degrade and impair a crews' level of alertness.
"This sudden 'decree' of the DGCA that pilots shall undertake flight duties as per the 'dynamic roster' would greatly compromise passenger safety and in fact, be a danger to public safety, and we again have to ask at whose behest this is being proposed?," it said.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
