• Source:JND
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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has withdrawn the new weekly roster norm, Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), about weekly rest for pilots after it triggered operational chaos for IndiGo, as over 1,000 flights have been cancelled in the past four days.

IndiGo has cancelled all its flights from Delhi till midnight and from Chennai until 6 PM. The airline had attributed the disruptions to the aforementioned DGCA norm. The DGCA issued a notification, saying that it received representations from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity of operations.

It said, "In view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, the instruction contained in the referenced paragraph that no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest is hereby withdrawn with immediate effect".

As per the revised FDTL norms, "No leave shall be substituted for weekly rest", which means that the weekly rest period and leaves are to be treated separately. This clause was part of efforts to address fatigue issues among the pilots.

Given the IndiGo flight disruptions, PTI reported that the DGCA has decided to withdraw the provision 'no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest' from the FDTL norms.

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The flight cancellations affected major airports, including Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, and Bengaluru, among others. Not only IndiGo flyers, but the passengers of other airlines also faced repercussions as disruptions spiraled to affect the airport operations.

IndiGo, India's largest airline, operates over 2,200 flights a day, which is nearly double the number of flights operated by Air India.

On Friday, 13 departures and 90 arrivals were cancelled in Delhi. Bengaluru Airport reported cancellation of 52 arrivals and 50 departures, while Hyderabad recorded 92 cancellations.

ALSO READ: IndiGo Flights Cancellation: Nearly 400 Flights, Including All In Delhi, Cancelled As Crisis Continues For 4th Day | Updates

The fourth day was worse for the airline as a total of 550 flights were cancelled in the previous 48 hours. The gaps in planning ahead of the implementation of the revised FDTL have resulted in crew shortage at IndiGo, and are one of the key reasons for the current disruptions.

(With PTI Inputs)

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