Why are pilots asking for more rest hours? | Explained

The story so far: After at least a year-long tussle over the new relaxed duty norms for pilots brought out by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the Delhi High Court on February 24, ruled that a vast chunk of these rules would come into effect from July 1, 2025. This brings to a close a six-year battle in Delhi High Court waged by pilot unions against the punitive provisions of the DGCA’s 2019 norms that raised permissible night flying from one night to two consecutive nights, slashed rest periods including for ultra-long range flights, and allowed airlines special dispensation for utilising pilots during unforeseen circumstances such as inclement weather or emergencies. The number of landings for flights encroaching night duty will be capped to two; while on night duty pilots can also not be assigned more than eight hours of flying duty or 10 hours of total duty that encompasses pre and post flight tasks. Since a change in DGCA’s rules in 2019, airlines are also allowed to deploy pilots on two consecutive nights of flying, which is one of the most staunchly opposed provisions because it requires pilots to stay awake against their natural body clock, with the window of circadian low, between 2am and 6am, being the toughest. The impact of the exacting rosters is such that pilots are known to sleep inside the cockpit for 1.5 to 2.5 hours even on domestic and short-haul international flights of upto five hours Add to these, the revised contract implemented by Air India and Air India Express since 2023, where pilots get a fixed pay equivalent to 40-hours of flying, down from 70-hours earlier, further pushing pilots to fly more to earn more.