Delhi High Court Challenges DGCA Over Pilot Fatigue Rule Relaxations: Safety Concerns Raised

The Delhi High Court has requested a response from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation regarding a contempt petition filed by the Indian Pilots Guild. The petition alleges that aviation authorities failed to fully implement new flight duty time limitation regulations that were previously approved by the court earlier this year.

Justice Amit Sharma issued a notice to the DGCA concerning the contempt petition, which claims that airlines received extensions and relaxations in pilot fatigue management rules, violating the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) 2024 framework. The court has scheduled the next hearing for April 17.

According to the Indian Pilots Guild, authorities have deliberately and willfully failed to comply with previous court orders. The association argues that while the new Flight Duty Time Limitation norms were designed to address crew fatigue management, the DGCA has undermined these protections by granting various exemptions to airlines, potentially compromising flight safety and passenger security.

The petition specifically states: "By approving non-compliant FDTL schemes and granting variations, exemptions and relaxations to the airlines, the actions of the respondents in the implementation of the FDTL CAR constitute willful non-compliance of the directions of this court."

DGCA's legal representative contested the contempt allegations, arguing that the court had not fixed the CAR's contents permanently. The counsel maintained that while implementation timelines were indeed binding, the regulatory body retained its statutory authority under the Aircraft Act and Rules to grant temporary, case-specific exemptions. These relaxations, according to the DGCA, were limited in scope, subject to periodic review, and did not nullify the overall enforcement of the CAR.

Earlier this year, the DGCA had submitted an affidavit to the high court stating that the new FDTL norms would be implemented in phases. Of the 22 proposed clauses, 15 were already implemented from July 1, with the remaining set to take effect from November 1, 2025.

The revised CAR 2024 regulations related to Flight Duty Time Limitations provide enhanced rest periods for pilots amid growing concerns about pilot fatigue. Initially, these new standards were scheduled to be enforced from June 1, 2024.

The court's decision follows petitions filed by multiple aviation professional bodies including the Indian Commercial Pilots Association, Indian Pilots Guild, and Federation of Indian Pilots regarding the regulator's revised FDTL norms.

In November 2025, the Federation of Indian Pilots also submitted a contempt petition, alleging that the DGCA deliberately failed to follow the high court's directives. The federation claimed that despite assurances made to the court, the regulator permitted airlines extensions and relaxations while approving fatigue management schemes that did not conform to either the CAR 2024 standards or the previously agreed implementation timeline.