Experts Flag Pilot Fatigue As Major Safety Risk; Call For Strict Enforcement Of Duty Norms
Calling pilot fatigue a serious safety risk, experts have called for calibrated enforcement of duty norms while opposing dilution of existing regulations, reports Surabhi Gupta.
Published : May 5, 2026 at 7:08 PM IST
New Delhi: Two Indian airline pilots have died within days, prompting discussions about pilot stress levels, regulations concerning work hours, and the unknown effects of the long flying hours on pilot health.
An Air India pilot died in Bali, Indonesia, while the Akasa Air pilot died in Bengaluru, India. Both pilots were under 45 years old and died of heart attacks but we do not yet know if any physical problems existed prior to their deaths.
There are now calls for an immediate examination of how airlines manage pilot workloads to ensure their well-being. What has created great concern in the aviation industry is that both pilots received a Class 1 Certificate after passing their latest medical exams. Thus, there are questions on whether routine medical checks can detect all possibilities of the pilots being fatigued or experiencing extreme stress.
A Shock To The System
The death of a 40-year-old first officer from Air India on April 29 in Bali has become a focal point of concern. According to airline officials, the pilot had completed an eight-hour flight well within prescribed duty limits and had no known pre-existing medical condition. After checking into a hotel during a routine layover, he complained of discomfort, suffered a heart attack, and could not be revived.
Just a day later, on April 30, an Akasa Air captain, around 44 years old, collapsed during a training session in Bengaluru and died of a suspected cardiac event. Due to the clustering of these episodes, it has raised troubling questions surrounding the potential for isolated instances of aviation-related fatalities, or a symptom of a greater systemic complication.
DGCA Faces Scrutiny
The occurrence of these episodes has increased scrutiny on the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as pilot associations continue to push for the regulation of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) based on pilot working hours with adequate time off for rest; however, delays continue in implementing those regulations.
In an open letter to the DGCA from the Airline Pilots Association of India (ALPA India), the association has characterized fatigue as a "critical safety issue" and has requested immediate action on updated regulations. The updated FDTL framework increases weekly rest from 36 to 48 hours, but airlines have sought exemptions citing operational challenges.
Pilot representatives argue that these “temporary variations” have effectively become the norm, allowing airlines to operate close to maximum permissible duty limits without sufficient safety buffers.
Experts Weigh In
Aviation expert Ajay Jasra emphasised that the debate is not about whether fatigue rules should exist, but how they are implemented.
“The issue is not whether FDTL norms should be implemented, they must be, because pilot fatigue is a critical safety concern. The question is how they are enforced. A sudden, rigid roll-out without accounting for current operational realities, higher fuel costs, longer flight routes and pilot shortages can strain airline systems and lead to unintended disruptions,” Jasra said.
He said that a calibrated enforcement: a clear, time-bound roadmap that upholds safety while giving airlines the ability to build pilot capacity and adjust operations is needed. “Safety cannot be compromised, but implementation must be practical and sustainable,” he said.
Offering a more direct critique, veteran aviator Naresh Kumar Beri warned against any dilution of fatigue norms.
“DGCA should not ease FDTL rules at all. Earlier we didn’t have so much work pressure. But now pilots have been given many flights like A, B, C, D then even E continuously,” he said, highlighting the increasing intensity of flight schedules.
Meanwhile, aviation expert Sanjay Lazar said that the dilution of DGCA’s Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms itself reflects the mounting stress and fatigue among pilots.
“These rules were formulated after decades of medical and flight data, with airlines given two years to implement them, but requests for relaxations began soon after operational challenges emerged,” he said.
He stressed that pilots and crew undergo stringent DGCA and Air Force-level medical examinations, and any pre-existing condition, however minor, results in grounding. “Fatigue and medical conditions are fundamentally different,” he said, adding that fatigue arises from violations of duty norms and lack of prescribed rest, and can eventually lead to health issues if not addressed.
On distinguishing fatigue from other health concerns, he said only medical experts can make that assessment, which is why FDTL norms mandate additional rest and time off to prevent sleep disorders and circadian rhythm disruption. Chronic illnesses, he added, are typically identified during routine medical checks.
Lazar highlighted that there is no effective system to screen fatigue at present, as the revised norms meant to act as a safeguard have been partially set aside. He called for full implementation of FDTL rules and the creation of an independent fatigue monitoring system, alleging that airlines often dismiss a majority of fatigue reports, raising serious safety concerns. “One Airline rejected almost 94% of all fatigue reports,” he said.
Fatigue Reports Under Scrutiny
Concerns about pilot fatigue are not new, but recent data have added urgency to the debate. Findings accessed through RTI requests and analysed by the Safety Matters Foundation suggest that more than 90% of fatigue reports filed by Indian pilots are dismissed by airlines as mere “perception.”
This has raised alarm within the industry, as it suggests that critical safety warnings may be systematically overlooked. ALPA India has warned that any system that discourages fatigue reporting weakens risk management protocols and could ultimately compromise passenger safety.
To address this, the association has proposed mandatory quarterly fatigue reports in a standardised format, public disclosure of these reports on the DGCA website, and regular regulatory audits.
“Transparency in this domain is essential. Fatigue reporting metrics should serve as a meaningful indicator of operational safety and enable informed oversight by all stakeholders, including the travelling public,” the association said in its letter.
Health Trends Raise Red Flags
Data also point to a worrying trend in pilot health. In a span of 14 years, the number of medically unfit pilots has skyrocketed from 25 in 2009 to 155 in 2023, an astonishing 520% increase. Experts believe that this increasing number may indicate the overall effects of long hours, fatigue, and irregular sleep patterns.
ALPA India has requested a periodic report on the medical fitness of pilots that will include statistics on both Permanent Medical Unfit (PMU) and Temporary Medical Unfit (TMU) pilots, with analyses connecting trends with pilot's schedules and a comparison chart to determine if there are discrepancies between PMU and TMUs.
The association has also asked the DGCA to release the reports of any investigations that are currently outstanding including the one relating to the IndiGo disruption on 12/2025 saying that transparency is key in holding individuals accountable for the actions that have occurred and to make improvements to the system.
The pilots' body has also pointed out many industry-wide issues beyond fatigue. These include the impact of consecutive night duties on circadian rhythms, the mismatch between expensive cadet pilot training programmes and limited job opportunities, and the pressure on airlines to maintain tight schedules amid rising operational costs.
Frustration among pilots is reportedly growing, with many taking to private forums to describe working up to 60 hours a week. Some allege that reporting fatigue can lead to “soft punishments,” such as unfavourable rostering, further discouraging open reporting.
A Pattern That Can't Be Ignored
The recent fatalities are not isolated. Since August 2023, at least five Indian pilots under the age of 50 have died either during duty or rest periods. Although there exists no direct linkage between these fatalities and fatigue, industry specialists have expressed that the repetitive nature of this series of fatalities is too alarming to dismiss as coincidental. ALPA India has requested that, in addition to recording flight duty time limitations (FDTL) violations, authorities also compare all post-mortem findings to duty logs for any possible connection between them and a violation of FDTL guidelines.
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