New Delhi, Nov 25 : The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday issued fresh directions to airlines, making annual fatigue-management training compulsory for pilots, cabin crew and other staff involved in planning crew schedules.

The move comes amid growing concern over rising duty hours and the impact of fatigue on flight safety.

The new rules will require each airline to provide at least one hour of specialised training every year as part of its regular ground training programme.

The module should cover rules regarding flight hours, duty limits, and mandatory rest, in addition to sleep science, disturbing factors for the body's internal clock, and how exhaustion influences performance in the cockpit/cabin.

Airlines have also been asked to train crew in recognising fatigue, managing lifestyle and rest effectively, and understanding the effects of long-haul operations, frequent short flights, and crossing multiple time zones.

The programme may also include dispatchers and flight schedulers because of their involvement in roster planning.

The DGCA has directed airlines to establish a transparent fatigue-reporting mechanism and an independent Fatigue Review Committee to examine the reports and recommend corrective measures.

A quarterly update must be sent to the regulator, highlighting the number of crew trained, the number of fatigue reports raised, how many were accepted/rejected, and for what reasons. When a crew member applies for fatigue leave, the rules require at least 24 hours of rest, with one local night.

The latest move by the regulator follows a July audit that exposed inconsistencies in how airlines interpreted and applied fatigue-related rules. Pilot associations also have been warning that recent changes permitting more night landings and longer duty periods on some Boeing 787 routes could compromise safety.

The DGCA had earlier increased weekly rest to 48 hours and restricted the number of night landings allowed, changes that initially faced resistance from major carriers like IndiGo and Air India before being enforced on the Delhi High Courtâ??s orders.

This new framework represents a renewed effort by the regulator to make crew well-being central in ensuring flight safety and making sure that fatigue risks are managed in a proactive manner across aviation.

/IANS