NEW DELHI, April 19 (Xinhua) -- A higher court in the Indian capital has asked the country's civil aviation regulator to put a cap on the flying hours of pilots and cabin crew.
The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to specify the maximum and minimum of flying time of pilots under the aviation rules, in the wake of a plea by a lawyer that raised the issues of pilot and aircrew fatigue.
"As far as the submission of the petitioner that the DGCA has no authority to grant any exemption or deviation from maximum limit of flying timing and duty period is concerned, there is substance in it," the court said.
In his plea, lawyer Yashwanth Shenoy has claimed that the maximum flying time for pilots is around 125 hours over 30 consecutive days but its gets varied as per the requirements of an airline.
"The DGCA now has no option but to comply with the Delhi High Court orders, given that many private airline often exploit pilots and cabin crew, which can lead to endangering the lives of passengers," an aviation official said Thursday.
Domestic air traffic in India grew 17 percent and crossed 100 million last year. Though air traffic is also estimated to grow 15 to 20 percent this year, the country is facing a shortage of trained pilots.
