Indian airlines’ international expansion plans hit by new pilot duty time rule

Indian carriers will have to go slow on their international expansion plans with the government remaining firm on implementing the revised pilot duty time rule from June 1.

Overall, international flights in the April-June quarter are 13 per cent higher year on year. However, these are mostly existing schedules. There have been limited new flight announcements by Indian carriers.

While Akasa Air has announced Mumbai-Doha service from March 28, Vistara and IndiGo will operate Mumbai-Paris and Bengaluru-Bali flights, respectively, in the summer schedule.

• Read: Airlines may need 20% more pilots to comply with new rules

Air India Express has started nine international routes in the last two months and indicated plans to launch service to Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Air India is likely to operate flights to Vietnam in the summer, but no announcement has been made yet.

“Managing current schedule itself will be stressful to say the least,” an Air India executive said when asked about the new pilot duty time rule. An Air India Express executive said the new duty pilot duty time rule will pose challenges, but the airline will manage them.

Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube welcomed DGCA initiative and said safety is of utmost importance to the airline.  However, he did not comment on the impact of new rule on airline’s schedules

In January, the Civil Aviation ministry announced a revised duty time rule for pilots. The revised rule will enhance pilots’ rest periods and help reduce fatigue. Airlines, however, are seeking an extension to the June 1 deadline.

“Our analysis points out that operating the current schedule will require 15-25 per cent more pilots and it takes appropriately 8-10 months to line release a newly inducted pilot. Therefore, the consequences would be cancellation of around 15-20 per cent of flights by most airline operators. Similarly, the industry will have to terminate certain long haul flights starting June 1,” the Federation of Indian Airlines wrote to the civil aviation ministry recently. 

Alongside operational readiness, international flight schedules also depend upon the availability of traffic rights and government approvals.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has, however, ruled out an extension to the June 1 deadline. An official said sufficient time has been given to airlines to prepare to implement the new rule, which will balance industry growth with safety.

The government’s tough stance could thus dampen airline’s expansion plans, especially as international travel is seeing a strong uptick.

Easier visas, conferences and events are spurring leisure and business travel alike. 

IndiGo’s international capacity grew 47 per cent in the December-end quarter on a year-on-year basis as the airline launched six destinations. Code share partnerships are also helping the airline grow its international traffic.

• Read: International traffic at Indian airports to exceed pre-Covid level in FY 2024: India Ratings

According to FCM Travel, London, Dubai, Tokyo, and Bangkok are the top-booked destinations for Indian business travellers in the April-June quarter. While Dubai is seeing demand growth with the easing of visa restrictions, Bangkok has seen a 30 per cent increase in incentive trips, said Sunny Sodhi, managing director of FCM Travel India.

COMMENT NOW