Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde went to attend the palanquin journey of Sant Muktai in Muktainagar, Jalgaon on Friday. While returning from here, the pilot refused to fly his chartered plane at Jalgaon Airport.
Pilot said- His duty hours are over. In such a situation, he cannot fly. After listening to the pilot, the administrative officials present there came in a hurry. He tried to convince the pilot, but he did not agree.
Ministers Girish Mahajan and Gulabrao Patil along with Shinde spoke to the airline company and explained the situation to the pilot. After about an hour, the pilot agreed to fly after the airline company explained.
Why did pilot refer to ending duty time
No pilot can fly more than 8-9 hours a day. The pilot’s duty time starts by reporting at his airport and remains until the rest time starts. Pilot’s duty time in Jalgaon was also over.
Duty time can also be from 8 to 13 hours, but depends on many things, these include day/night time, flight number, flying length and factor.
After duty, the pilot is given a rest of 12 to 14 hours of rest. This time depends on how long the previous duty was and how many flights he flew. If the pilot has taken a long flight or has a night duty, then the rest time can be even longer.
If the pilot wants to fly another after one flight, it cannot be seated back to the flight deck until it completes the prescribed rest time. For this, the airline has to call an alternative pilot or send an extra relief crew in the flight.
Changes can be made in this rule on special instructions from Air Force/Government or DGCA and due to any VVIP movement.
