Pilots are being discouraged and penalised for filing fatigue reports, Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) said on Friday.
The association has called for public disclosure and review of fatigue report data filed with the civil aviation regulator.
ALPA made this demand following untimely deaths of two pilots this week.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) requires airlines to establish a fatigue report management system. Airlines have to submit fatigue reports filed by pilots on a quarterly basis.
Data obtained from DGCA by NGO Safety Matters Foundation on the subject reveals a disturbing trend.
Fatigue reports
“Air India received 1,578 fatigue reports from its pilots in 2025 and rejected 860 of them — 54.5 per cent rejection rate. IndiGo received 8,721 reports and rejected 8,449 — a 96.9 per cent rejection rate,” Captain Amit Singh of Safety Matters Foundation said in his report on Friday. Air India Express accepted all the 278 fatigue reports filed by its pilots in 2025, it said.
IndiGo declined to comment and Air India did not respond to email query.
Singh says whenever airline receives a fatigue report, the standard line of analysis is did the pilot fly in excess of DGCA prescribed time limit? Since the answer is invariably no, the report is closed, he said.
ALPA said the information indicates an alarmingly low rate of acceptance of fatigue reports by operators. “Such trends are inconsistent with the principles of a just safety culture and undermine fatigue risk management systems,” Captain Sam Thomas, President of ALPA India said in a letter to the DGCA.
The association has also demanded a time-bound roadmap for full implementation of flight duty time rules. It said extensions granted to various airlines poses a safety risk and should be withdrawn.
“The continued occurrence of untimely pilot fatalities and adverse health outcomes, particularly following the introduction and operational misuse of consecutive night duties, warrants urgent attention. Recent aviation incidents further reinforce the need to ensure that flight crew are not merely compliant with limits but are genuinely well-rested and operationally fit,” the association said.
Published on May 1, 2026