The Indian low-cost airline Indigo will use smart watches, technology of Thalesas part of an essay on the pilot fatigue. It also plans to appoint a consultant to improve its fatigue risk management processes.
The Indian airline IndiGo will use a device to manage the risk of fatigue among its pilots. The experimental and conceptual technology will be carried out in partnership with the French aerospace company Thales Group. Pilots can volunteer for trials that will use a fatigue management tool from Thales (TCFP.PA), and the data collected will be analyzed anonymously, said the memo sent to all pilots by Ashim Mittra, head of flight operations department of IndiGo.
Using a bracelet, similar to a smart watch, Indigo pilots will be monitored in real time over the next few months. The program will use historical information and predictive analytics, data collected being anonymized. The data will be analyzed to develop a research model to detect professional conditions and burnout.
Using equipment installed in the main airports it operates, such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru And Chennaithe company plans to develop personalized strategies to combat the fatigue of its pilots who will voluntarily use the Thales ground device to assess their level of alertness, taking a maximum of 5 minutes before and after the flight. A Cdormant researcher hired and the company’s fatigue management team will help plan stopovers and flights based on individual analysis. However, IndiGo will maintain the existing system through which pilots can request to withdraw from the service when they feel tired.
The implementation of the new functionality takes place after the death of a pilot moments before taking over an Indian low-cost flight. The Civil Aviation Authority of India (DGCA) checks whether the current regulations need to be modified to avoid crew fatigue. The tests will also serve as a parameter for the entire sector, given the increasing number of incidents recorded in recent years and given the lack of professionals in the sector.
India’s aviation safety watchdog had launched a review of pilot fatigue data in late August to see if policy changes were needed after the sudden death from an IndiGo pilot. The rare examination, which was not previously reported, came after an IndiGo pilot collapsed and died at the departure gate of Nagpur airport before boarding his mid-air flight. -last August. This sparked complaints from some Indian pilots who said they were being strained by airlines even though they meet duty time regulations.
IndiGo has approximately 4,000 pilots, which carry out an average of 1,900 daily flights. The company’s fleet is made up of 327 aircraft, including 40 ATR 72s, 20 A320-300s, 173 A320neos and 92 A321neos, plus two A321-200s dedicated to freight transport.
