Indian pilot unions question the DGCA's new data-driven system on fatigue due to safety concerns, court-mandated duty hours and the need for independent control.

Indian pilot unions are opposing the DGCA's plan to implement a data-based Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS), arguing that it puts flight safety at risk and goes against the court's rules on how many hours pilots should work. The dispute follows the Delhi High Court's decision earlier this year to increase the hours of pilot rest per week and limit night flying.

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) criticized the DGCA's initiative to introduce a flexible framework (airline-controlled FRMS), calling it "dangerously premature" for India's aviation ecosystem. The UN aviation safety body, ICAO, has also emphasized that good FRMS oversight requires well-trained inspectors and adequate resources, which are not yet fully in place.

Another union, the Airlines' Pilots Association of India, warned that airlines developing their own FRMS tools could cause manipulation of statistical models intended to penalize pilots who report fatigue by reclassifying them as "sick." Both unions are seeking representation on all airline and DGCA-level fatigue oversight committees to cover for independent monitoring.

"The appropriate tool for such a fundamental change in safety is a Civil Aviation Requirement, not an Operations Circular," FIP said, noting concerns that the new system will reduce aviation safety.

As DGCA sifts through feedback, the debate accentuates the widening tensions between the regulatory authorities and pilots on data-based methods of managing tiredness and understanding the need for transparency, adherence to the legal requirements and checks and balances to retain the trust in the rapidly blossoming field of Indian aviation.

This confrontation is another important phase in the history of aviation safety for India, with unions calling for tough protection ahead of any rollout of FRMS.