The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the stand of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on a petition challenging its decision to suspend the new flight duty-time norms after massive disruptions to airline services last month, Bar and Bench reported.

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia asked the counsel for the aviation regulator to obtain instructions in the matter by Thursday.

In January 2024, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued revised Flight Duty Time Limit norms after concerns were raised about pilot fatigue. The norms were meant to take effect on June 1.

However, airlines asked for delayed implementation because of staffing shortages and operational challenges, and the key changes were eventually introduced on November 1.

The new rules required longer weekly rest, restricted night landings, extended the definition of night hours and limited consecutive night duties.

As the revised norms came into force, air travel was severely affected in December when a shortage of pilots and crew forced IndiGo to cancel or delay hundreds of flights. The disruption also pushed fares to unusually high rates on several routes.

To reduce air travel disruptions, the aviation regulator temporarily placed the new flight duty-time norms in abeyance, Bar and Bench reported. It also granted exemptions to airlines until early February 2026 while they make sufficient adjustments to their roster to accommodate new government regulations.

On Wednesday, the bench said that the new flight duty-time rules must be implemented as they are directly linked to the safety of the passengers.

“The regulator has provided some regulations,” Bar and Bench quoted the court as saying. “Unless it is challenged or there is some flaw, they need to enforce it. They have not been practically followed... They must be implemented.”

The observations were made during the hearing of a public interest litigation by a person named Sabari Roy Lenka and other litigants that challenged the aviation regulator’s decision to keep the norms in abeyance.

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