Indian pilots to fly more as apex court turns down appeal

New Delhi: Till a new CAR (civil aviation requirements) comes into place, Indian pilots will have to fly more hours. The Supreme Court has upheld a civil aviation ministry order from 2008 that keeps the current civil aviation requirements (CAR) in abeyance and revives the 1992 circular fixing rigorous flying hours for the pilots.

A bench of justice P Sathasivam and justice BS Chauhan upheld a Mumbai High Court verdict and dismissed an appeal filed by the joint action committee of Airlines Pilots Associations of India against it.

The court also directed the ministry to process and implement new CAR "expeditiously" and in "accordance with law."

The direction was made after the government appraised the court that it had in September 2010 accepted the report of an expert committee that was constituted to formulate the new CAR. The civil aviation ministry has already advised the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) to issue a draft CAR and invite objections on it.

With the apex court ruling against them and till such time as the new CAR becomes operational, pilots will now have to follow the 1992 circular.

The committee of pilots had challenged the "automatic revival" of this circular on the ground that it would impact safety as longer working hours would mean less long breaks, which were essential to maintain alertness while in the cockpit.