Mumbai: An Indian pilots' body has raised serious concerns following the untimely deaths of two pilots this week, alleging that the aviation regulator’s continued grant of exemptions to airlines regarding flight duty time limitations (FDTL) is directly compromising flight safety and contributing to a crisis of pilot fatigue and deteriorating health. The Airline Pilots Association of India (ALPA India) asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to direct airlines to publicly disclose pilots’ fatigue data reports.
Two Tragic Deaths
In less than seven days, Indian aviation saw an untimely death of two cockpit crews – associated with Air India and Akasa Air – due to heart attack. Both deceased pilots were reportedly under the age of 45 and died during their rest hours and training period, respectively. The pilots’ body has rung an alarm over these deaths, which stand as a stinging indictment of the current safety culture within the Indian aviation industry.
In the letter dated May 1, ALPA India's president Capt. Sam Thomas expressed grave concern that temporary measures of giving variational exemptions to Indian airlines, originally intended for a transitional phase to deal with the operational issues, have now become standard practice. The pilots argued that these variations allow airlines to operate at the absolute edge of regulatory limits without any safety buffers.
Specific Demands
The letter specifically calls for a time-bound roadmap for the gradual withdrawal of all FDTL variations, a return to uniform implementation of FDTL across all Indian operators and reinstating the rule that prohibits airlines from substituting earned leave in place of mandatory weekly rest.
Citing an “alarmingly low” rate of fatigue reports being accepted by airlines, ALPA India has demanded unprecedented transparency and has requested the DGCA to mandate that all airlines submit quarterly fatigue report data in a standardised format. Crucially, they want this data, including acceptance rates and corrective actions, to be published in the public domain on the DGCA website.
Meaningful Safety Indicator
"Fatigue reporting metrics should serve as a meaningful indicator of operational safety and enable informed oversight by all stakeholders, including the travelling public," the letter stated.
The letter highlights a grim trend of untimely fatalities and adverse health outcomes linked to the misuse of consecutive night duties. ALPA India has urged the regulator to investigate and publish data on the iInstances of permanent and temporary medical unfitness and trends correlating these medical issues with current operational scheduling and rostering practices.
The pilots’ body argued that the refusal to disclose these safety indicators, despite repeated RTI requests, creates a perception that "material safety indicators are not being transparently examined."
Night Duty Concerns
The letter also takes aim at the lack of accountability regarding past incidents. ALPA India noted that the inquiry report for the massive IndiGo operational disruption of December 2025 has still not been made public. They argued that withholding such findings hinders the industry's ability to build systemic resilience.
ALPA India’s message to the DGCA clearly stated that commercial considerations must not override safety. The association warned the regulator against any dilution of the approved FDTL framework under pressure from airline operators citing crew shortages. The pilots pointed out a structural irony that while operators complain of shortages to seek FDTL relaxations, a large pool of privately trained and licensed pilots remains underutilised.
ALPA India has demanded the DGCA to withdraw all temporary variations in a progressive manner, make fatigue reporting transparent with quarterly public disclosures, reintegrate roster stability as a measurable audit parameter and to disclose pending inquiry reports and pilot medical fitness data immediately.
"The safety of human life must remain paramount and non-negotiable," the letter concluded, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing battle between Indian flight crews, airlines, and the regulator over the limits of human endurance in the cockpit.
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