New rules restricting the duty timings of pilots and cabin crew have been framed and will have to be implemented by all airlines from February next year. The rules framed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) were initially expected to come into force earlier this year but will now have to be implemented from February 15, 2012, the aviation regulator said in a latest directive.

The need for new flight duty timing limitation (FDTL) for pilot's arose after last year's crash of Air India Express flight at Mangalore that claimed 158 lives. During investigations, it came to light that the commander was sleeping for most of the flight hours. The new rules would take into account a pilot's "duty time" rather than just their "flight time", which means his duty timing would also include his flight hours as passenger when flying to other city to operate a flight.

Airlines have been blamed for increasing flights but not hiring pilots and cabin crew proportionately with the growth of India's domestic airline passenger market. According to the civil aviation ministry, the country's aviation sector has witnessed 18 per cent growth last year and is expected to witness a double digit growth over the next five years. The delay in implementation of new FDTL will allow airlines to hire more pilots to maintain current level of operations. The airline operators are required to prepare the scheme specifying the limitations for flight time, flight duty periods, duty periods and rest periods of flight crew members which had to be approved by DGCA.