India, May 9 -- The recent deaths of two on-duty Indian pilots (flying for Air India and Akasa) have placed the chilling reality of crew fatigue under the spotlight once again.

The new Flight Duty Timing Limitation (FDTL) norms were scheduled for implementation in November 2025. However, after the delay-cancellation crisis involving IndiGo in early-December last year and a plea from some civil aviation players stating they weren't in a position to comply with the norms in toto, the new regime was deferred through exemptions granted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The West Asia war and the compulsions for airlines arising because of it created the conditions for the exemptions to continue. In essence, the new FDTL nor...