IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet say DGCA draft cabin crew rest norms 'more restrictive' compared to global standards

Mumbai: IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet have described the proposed cabin crew rest norms as "more restrictive" compared to global standards and offers limited operational flexibility for the airlines.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) came out with its draft Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) on Cabin Crew Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) in October 2025.

The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which represents IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet, has made various recommendations to the aviation watchdog and stressed the need for having "globally-harmonised, evidence-based and operationally practical provisions".

One of the key contentions of the grouping is flight duty period rather than flight time should be the primary controlling metric for day-to-day cabin crew fatigue management.

"Duty and rest limits may focus on Flight Duty Period and minimum rest periods, avoiding right cumulative caps or direct linkage to number of landings," FIA said in a letter dated January 12.

Generally, flight duty period starts when a cabin crew member is required by an operator to report for, or to commence a duty and ends when that person is free from all duties.

Flight Time is broadly the duration of a flight.

Also, FIA said the duty and rest limits should focus on the flight duty period and minimum rest periods, avoiding cumulative caps or direct linkage to the number of landings.

"The proposed CAR framework appears more restrictive compared to global standards, offering limited operational flexibility, and not adequately addressing all fatigue concerns with the nuance required for diverse types of operations," the letter said.

With respect to proposed norms for rooms for the cabin crew, FIA said accommodation standards should be focused on rest quality, with twin-sharing permitted under operator-defined guidelines.

Among other aspects, the three airlines have pointed out that international frameworks recognise that effective fatigue recovery is driven by adequate rest opportunity and circadian alignment (local night) rather than the physical location of rest.

Meanwhile, the implementation of the revised FDTL norms for pilots is still to be fully implemented despite legal battles, and non-compliance with the changed provisions was also one of the reasons that led to the massive operational disruptions at IndiGo in early December 2025.