Public-safety concerns due to pilot fatigue can’t be brushed aside, says court
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought DGCA’s response by January 29 on a plea against its decision to relax the mandatory fatigue-management regulations for pilots considering a recent massive disruption in the operations of IndiGo. The court said concerns on public safety due to the non-implementation of DGCA regulations to prevent pilot fatigue cannot be “brushed aside”.
A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia passed the order while hearing a PIL challenging DGCA’s December 5, 2025 decision to keep the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) regulations in abeyance. The petition claimed it had a “direct link to passenger safety”.
The FDTL regulations prescribe minimum rest periods for pilots and flight crewmembers and are aimed at strengthening fatigue management to ensure passenger safety. The court said that once safety regulations are framed, they are required to be enforced unless they suffer from legal infirmities or are successfully challenged.
“Unless the regulations are challenged or have an inherent flaw, they have to be enforced. These regulations have a direct nexus with safety measures. The concern raised in this petition cannot be brushed aside,” the bench said.
DGCA move following flight disruptions
The DGCA, on December 5, 2025, rolled out Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) exemptions to enable IndiGo to have more pilots on duty to reduce the disruptions and normalise operations. The aviation regulator eased flight-duty norms by allowing the substitution of leave with a weekly rest period.