NEW DELHI: To improve flight safety as well as the health of cabin crew, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has proposed changes in the flight duty time limitations for crew after seven years. The emphasis on providing rest facilities for the crew on board an aircraft is a particularly significant proposal.
A month ago, the DGCA had released a draft with significant changes proposed for the cockpit crew, particularly regarding fatigue management.
The regulator’s draft, released on Wednesday, acknowledged that the cabin crew perform duties in the interest of the safety of passengers. To enhance safety of operations, the following duty time and flight limitations are released for the compliance of flight operators, it stated.
“These rest facilities need to be independent rest areas with horizontal bunks and shall provide an environment that is conducive to rest/sleep.”
The draft has called for augmenting the existing cabin crew so that an airline will have more than the minimum required crew in the aircraft. This would allow each cabin crew member to leave the assigned position for the sake of in-flight rest and be replaced by another cabin member.
The DGCA calls for “a bunk or other surface that allows for a flat or near flat sleeping position. It must recline to at least 80° back angle to the vertical and is located separately from the passenger cabin in an area that allows the crew member to control light, and provides isolation from noise and disturbance.”
