New Delhi: The Parliamentary Standing Committee has summoned the Airline Pilots Association of India (ALPA India) to Parliament to express its concerns regarding the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rule, pilot fatigue, and the growing safety risks in the aviation sector.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture has summoned the Airline Pilots Association of India to express pilots’ concerns regarding non-compliance, duty-time violations, and fatigue. According to the association, the discussion will focus on shortcomings in implementing the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation rules and ongoing concerns regarding duty-time compliance within airlines. The Pilots Association has repeatedly warned that the lack of proper fatigue management can impact flight safety.
The Pilots Association will also inform Members of Parliament about the increasing incidents of GPS spoofing at major airports in recent months. In an official statement, the organization said, “ALPA India has been officially invited by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture to present pilots’ concerns regarding flight duty time limitations, non-compliance, duty-time violations, and operational stress.”
The statement further stated, “For the first time, pilot fatigue, flight duty time limitation violations, and operational realities essential to safety will be heard in the highest legal forum.” Earlier, Captain Anil Rao, General Secretary of the Pilots Association, had expressed concern over the temporary exemption granted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to IndiGo from certain FDTL regulations. Speaking to ANI, Rao said that this exemption would increase safety risks.
He said, “People should be made aware of the real reason. The issue is that there is a risk of this happening again. Our concern is that the DGCA is granting temporary exemptions from certain FDTL regulations, which will compromise safety.” Today, we have one law for IndiGo and another for other operators. To meet flight demand, we are compromising safety, and this is not good for the passengers traveling on the flight.
He further stated that the airline has not clearly stated the reasons behind the disruption. It was completely wrong and unexpected, as passengers were not expecting it. The company is claiming it was a miscalculation. We do not know what the miscalculation is because it has not been clearly stated where the miscalculation occurred or where the error occurred. The DGCA has formed a panel of its officials to look into the matter and provide its opinion.
Meanwhile, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ramamohan Naidu confirmed on Monday that several flights approaching Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport recently experienced GPS spoofing while using GPS-based landing procedures on Runway 10.
He made this statement in response to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha. The minister said that after receiving the spoofed navigation signals, the affected aircraft implemented contingency procedures, while operations on the other runway were unaffected due to the use of ground-based navigational aids.
Naidu said that the DGCA had issued an advisory circular regarding GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) interference and introduced a new standard operating procedure on November 10 for real-time reporting of GPS spoofing events.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has also sought assistance from the Wireless Monitoring Organization (WMO) to locate the source of the interference. Naidu said, “Regular reports are being received from other major airports in the country after the DGCA made it mandatory to report GPS jamming/spoofing incidents from November 2023.” He further said, “Kolkata, Amritsar, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai airports have all recorded incidents of GNSS interference.”
The Minister stated that India maintains a minimum operating network of conventional navigational infrastructure to ensure safety during such incidents and is actively participating in global forums to upgrade technology. He also noted that the aviation sector faces increasing cybersecurity threats, including ransomware and malware attacks. He stated that advanced systems are being installed in accordance with guidelines.
