A 32-year-old IndiGo pilot has reportedly died at the Delhi airport on Thursday evening. Captain Raj Barot hailed from Bengaluru and is said to have died of heart attack.
It’s not known whether he was on duty or happened to be just travelling in a personal capacity.
Janta Ka Reporter contacted IndiGo for reaction and the story will be updated once they issue a statement.
The development will put spotlight on the new Flight Duty Time Limitation norms stipulating the hours a pilot is required to work mid-air. One pilot told Janta Ka Reporter that the new FDTL norms allowed the airlines to use the pilots for the longer duty hours with lesser rest period.
Pilots had even protested against the new FDTL norms complaining the stress caused by the longer duty period.
The pilot that Janta Ka Reporter spoke to said on the condition of anonymity, “The new norms help the airline. Raj’s death could be due to other reasons including his life style. Under the new FDTL norms, airline appears to believe in one motto ‘Eat fly and sleep’.”
IndiGo airlines uses Delhi’s terminal 1D and 2 for operations as opposed to using the Terminal 3, which is also known as the International Terminal.