Stretch duty hoursThe court’s direction came on a petition by Kerala-based lawyer Yashwanth Shenoy who claimed that the DGCA was allowing airline operators to stretch the duty hours of pilots under the FDTL resulting in fatigue. “This will reduce the burden on pilots who are stretched of their physical limits just because DGCA wants to protect the coffers of private airlines. He is assured of better safety,” Mr Shenoy told The Hindu following the HC decision. He alleged that these “variations were allowed to air operators without any scientific study or risk assessment in violation of their own regulations”. Earlier, the HC had expressed concern over fatigued pilots and cabin crew posing a risk to passenger safety.

Source: The Hindu April 18, 2018 20:25 UTC