DGCA FDTL limits for airline pilots are set by CAR Section 7, Series J, Part III, Revision 2 of 26 March 2024: a two-pilot crew gets at most 13 hours of flight duty and 10 hours of flight time in one duty, less with more landings or at night, plus cumulative caps and a 12-hour minimum rest. General aviation and non-scheduled fixed-wing flying follows Part IV, which keeps an older night window and a shorter weekly rest.
Which DGCA FDTL rules apply to you
Series J has four parts, and the one that binds you depends on what you fly:
- Part III: flight crew in scheduled air transport (the airlines). Issue III of 24 April 2019, Revision 2 of 26 March 2024.
- Part IV: scheduled commuter, non-scheduled, general aviation, state government and PSU fixed-wing flying. Issue I of 23 March 2021, Revision 1 of 19 January 2023.
- Part II: helicopter flight and cabin crew.
- Part I: cabin crew.
Flying schools have no Series J part. CAR 7-D-I (Issue III, 10 December 2025) asks each flying training organisation to set duty and rest limits for instructors and students in its own Training and Procedures Manual.
Your airline does not apply the CAR directly. It writes an FDTL scheme "within" the CAR, DGCA approves it, and it becomes part of the Operations Manual. The CAR calls its numbers the "outer limits", so your scheme can be stricter, never looser.
Flight duty period and flight time in one duty
A flight duty period (FDP) starts when you are required to report and ends at engines off after the last flight you crew. Flight time is block to block: from first movement for take-off until the aeroplane comes to rest.
Table 6.1 of Part III sets both for a two-pilot crew "during any 24 hrs":
| Landings | Max flight time | Max FDP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 hours | 13:00 |
| 2 | 9 hours | 13:00 |
| 3 | 8 hours | 12:30 |
| 4 | 8 hours | 12:00 |
| 5 | 8 hours | 11:30 |
| 6 | 8 hours | 11:00 |
| Night duty, up to 2 | 8 hours | 10:00 |
The whole duty period, including post-flight duties, may run at most 1 hour beyond the maximum FDP (para 6.2).
Night duty: 00:00 to 06:00
A night duty is "any Duty Period encroaching upon any portion of the time period between 0000 hrs and 0600 hrs in the time zone to which the crew is acclimatized" (para 3.11). Touch that window for even a minute and the night row applies: 10 hours of FDP, 8 hours of flight time and 2 landings. Cargo-only crews may make 4 landings, with a 24-hour rest afterwards.
Two more night rules:
- Consecutive nights. No more than two in a row, "except once within a period of 168 hours" (para 13.1).
- Window of circadian low. The CAR defines the WOCL as 02:00 to 06:00 and reduces the maximum FDP when a duty starts or ends in it. The note names only paras 6.1.3 and 7.1, so check how your operator's scheme applies it.
Before the 2024 revision the night window was 00:00 to 05:00 and a night FDP could include up to 6 landings, according to the government's announcement of 8 January 2024.
Cumulative limits
Para 8 caps flight time and duty over five rolling windows. Each window is consecutive days, not calendar months.
| In any | Flight time | Duty |
|---|---|---|
| 7 days | 35 hours | 60 hours |
| 14 days | 65 hours | 100 hours |
| 28 days | 100 hours | 190 hours |
| 90 days | 300 hours | 600 hours |
| 365 days | 1,000 hours | 1,800 hours |
Rest before a duty and weekly rest
The minimum rest before an FDP is the longer of two figures (para 10.1):
- your preceding duty period;
- 12 hours, or 18 hours after crossing more than 3 time zones (up to 7), or 36 hours after more than 7.
Three refinements:
- After a duty longer than 18 hours, positioning included, the rest must include a local night (para 10.4). A local night is 8 hours between 22:00 and 08:00, fixed by your operator.
- Travel to and from the airport counts as neither duty nor rest. Beyond 30 minutes, rest grows by twice the extra time (para 10.5).
- Other duties, such as office work or training, need at least 10 hours of rest (para 10.2).
Weekly rest is 48 continuous hours including two local nights, with never more than 168 hours between the end of one weekly rest and the start of the next (para 10.6). It rises to 60 hours after more than 3 FDPs that touched the night window in the preceding 168 hours (para 10.6.1).
When a duty can run longer
Para 16.1 lets flight time grow by up to 1 hour and the FDP by up to 2 hours for "unforeseen operational circumstances", such as weather or a runway closure. The commander, after consulting the crew, conveys consent to the Head of Operations. Extensions are capped at 4 hours of flight time and 8 hours of FDP in any 28 days. Rest afterwards grows by 2 or 4 hours, depending on the size of the extension.
What changed in 2024 and 2025
- 8 January 2024, Revision 1. The rewrite: weekly rest from 36 to 48 hours, night from 00:00 to 05:00 widened to 06:00, and night landings cut to 2.
- 26 March 2024, Revision 2. It removed the 1 June 2024 compliance date and deleted one night-duty paragraph; every number stayed the same.
- 2025. DGCA told the Delhi High Court it would roll out 15 clauses by 1 July 2025 and the other 7 by 1 November 2025.
- 5 December 2025. After IndiGo's flight disruptions, it was exempted from paras 3.11 and 6.1.4 until 10 February 2026. That exemption has ended.
As of 21 October 2026, DGCA's own list shows Revision 2 as the current Part III.
How general aviation rules differ
Part IV keeps the old night window, 00:00 to 05:00. It sets weekly rest at 36 hours including two local nights, rising to 48 hours after more than 3 night duties. Its two-pilot table allows 10 hours of flight time and a 13:30 FDP for 1 or 2 landings. A single pilot gets 7 hours of flight time and an 08:30 FDP with up to 8 landings. The cumulative limits match Part III. Private and aerial operators of non-turbojet aeroplanes under 5,700 kg use Part IV as guidelines for a scheme of their own.
Check a duty in a minute
The free DGCA FDTL calculator takes your report time, landings and recent hours. It shows the FDP, flight time, duty and rest limits for that duty, with the CAR text quoted.
Pilotbook, an iPhone logbook from Tera Labs, adds up the flight time you log over rolling 7, 28 and 365 days against these limits. It also imports your roster, so you see a problem before you report. It is coming soon to the App Store: see what Pilotbook does.
Questions people ask
What is the maximum duty time for a pilot in India?
For a two-pilot airline crew, the flight duty period is at most 13 hours with 1 or 2 landings, falling to 11 hours with 6. A night duty is capped at 10 hours. The whole duty period may run 1 hour beyond the FDP limit.
How many hours can a pilot fly in a week in India?
35 hours of flight time in any 7 consecutive days, and 60 hours of duty. There are also 14, 28, 90 and 365-day limits.
What is the minimum rest for pilots under DGCA rules?
At least as long as the preceding duty, or 12 hours, whichever is greater. It rises to 18 or 36 hours after crossing more than 3 or more than 7 time zones.
Do the new FDTL rules apply to flying schools?
No. Part III is for scheduled airlines. Flying training organisations set instructor and student limits in their own Training and Procedures Manual under CAR 7-D-I.