Aviation safety regulator DGCA has granted temporary relaxations in flight duty norms for Air India’s long-haul flights as the carrier takes longer routes because of airspace restrictions in the Middle East amid the ongoing Iran conflict, sources cited by news agency PTI said on Sunday.
With Iranian and Iraqi airspace restrictions in place, Air India is routing many of its European and North American flights via Egypt, leading to longer flying hours and extended duty periods for pilots.
As per PTI, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has allowed certain exemptions in Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms for these long-haul operations until April 30.
There was no immediate comment from either Air India or the DGCA on the temporary relaxations.
What relaxations has DGCA allowed?
According to PTI, the relaxations apply to long-haul flights operated with two pilots.
Under the temporary exemption, the DGCA has:
- Extended Flight Time (FT) by 1 hour 30 minutes to 11 hours 30 minutes
- Extended Flight Duty Period (FDP) by 1 hour 45 minutes to 11 hours 45 minutes
- Relaxed the 30-minute roster planning buffer requirement
For a single landing, the normal maximum FT and FDP are 10 hours and 13 hours, respectively.
Flight Time refers to the period from when an aircraft first moves for take-off until it comes to rest at the end of the flight, while Flight Duty Period begins when a crew member reports for duty and ends when the engines are shut down after the final flight.
Allegation of breach in Jeddah flight planning
Even as the regulator has offered temporary relief, sources told PTI that Air India may be stretching the exemption beyond the permitted limit in at least one case.
According to a source quoted by PTI, Air India has been scheduling its Jeddah flight with an FDP of 11 hours 55 minutes, which is 10 minutes beyond the extended ceiling of 11 hours 45 minutes allowed under the relaxation.
“While flight duty period (FDP) has been extended by 1.45 hours, Air India is forcing its pilots to operate Jeddah flight, which has an FDP of 11.55 hours, thus exceeding the allowed relaxations by 10-minutes,” a source told PTI.
Why are Air India flights taking longer routes?
The change comes as the escalating US-Israel-Iran conflict, which began on February 28, has led to significant airspace curbs across parts of the Middle East, disrupting airline operations globally.
Air India is now flying to Europe and North America via Oman, the southern part of Saudi Arabia and Egypt instead of using more direct routes through restricted airspace.
For some ultra-long-haul services, the airline is also making technical stops in Rome.
It was not immediately clear whether IndiGo has received similar temporary exemptions for its own long-haul operations.
Wider disruption in UAE operations
The temporary duty norm relaxation comes against the backdrop of broader disruption to Indian carriers in the region.
Air India cancelled several flights on Sunday to the UAE, including services to Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, after airport authorities there directed airlines to reduce operations amid the evolving West Asia crisis.
In a statement on X, Air India said: “In view of the latest instructions from Airport authorities in the UAE, Air India and Air India Express are compelled to curtail their ad-hoc operations for 15 March 2026.”
Air India operated only one Delhi–Dubai return flight for the day, while four of five planned Dubai flights were cancelled. Air India Express also operated just one Delhi–Dubai return service, with five of six scheduled Dubai flights cancelled, while all five Abu Dhabi flights by the budget carrier were cancelled.
Passengers affected by cancellations were offered free rebooking or full refunds.
Conflict continues to hit aviation
The wider aviation sector has been under pressure as the West Asia crisis disrupts air corridors and pushes up aviation turbine fuel (ATF) costs.
IndiGo also warned of further restrictions in Dubai operations and asked passengers to check flight status before heading to the airport.
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