What The New FAA Crew Hours Mean For Airlines, Crew, And Passengers

New FAA crew Hours rule will protect passengers' most important resource: The cabin crew. Here's how.

History was made on October 4th when US cabin crew received protection from the US federal government for ten consecutive hours of rest between shifts. This coincides well with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations requirements for pilots, as per 14 CFR 121.471(b), which is also known as Part 121. Being that the new rule comes into effect 30 days from now, on Thursday, November 3, one may want to reach out to their US airline and see if their flight may be changed.

Read more: Making History: FAA Extends Minimum Rest Period For Flight Attendants

The rule itself

Instead of the current Part 121 regulations that allow for a sliding scale, the new flight attendant duty limitations rule is clear flight attendants,

“Must be given a scheduled rest period of at least 10 consecutive hours. This rest period must occur between the completion of the scheduled duty period and the commencement of the subsequent duty period.”

The rule also acknowledges what most Simple Flying regular readers know from Patricia Green’s prolific writing – that flight attendants have specific duties. Quoting a paragraph from the new rule for the record:

“Flight attendants are responsible for taking action during emergencies, including administering first aid, conducting aircraft evacuations, responding to inflight fires, managing medical emergencies, and handling passengers who threaten the safety of other passengers or might be unruly or disruptive. They must also be prepared to respond to situations that could threaten the safety of the passengers and the flight, including turbulent air, airplane decompression, and hijackings. Flight attendants must know the location of emergency exits, fire extinguishers, first aid kits, flotation devices, oxygen masks, and emergency slides, and check emergency equipment before flight. Additionally, they must assess and verify the suitability of passengers that occupy exit seating, brief passengers on safety equipment and evacuation and emergency landing procedures, and ensure compliance with applicable safety and security regulations.”

Notice the absence of such things as cooking food, serving drinks, and wearing smart uniforms. Being cabin crew comes with specific responsibilities that test one’s character and judgment.

Sara Nelson, AFA President responds

On October 4th, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) President Sara Nelson responded in an Instagram Live conversation with US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg that, “It’s a huge deal”.

Nelson went on to explain health studies were commissioned. Lack of adequate rest was leading to higher risks of cancer, heart issues and respiratory illness. Nelson then stated clearly,

For safety and security on the job, you don't want someone who's fighting has to fight a fire or revive someone from a heart attack or evacuate a whole airplane to be fatigued and not able to be responsive and quick to be able to do those duties when it's most important.

Earlier on, Nelson made clear the harm of airline executives preferring stock buybacks over investing in employees. Considering the ban on stock buybacks was just lifted, Nelson’s concern was that, as pre-pandemic airline traffic returns with fewer resources for scheduling and staffing due to stock buybacks and more unruly passengers, this would mean more flight attendants would work fatigued.

Pilot Rest Regulations

It’s also worth noting that pilots are given in Part 121 regulations at least 8 hours between required rest periods. But if the pilot has flown nine or more hours, with few exceptions, the law also guarantees at least “9 consecutive hours of rest” up to 11. So there may be some changes necessary to some airlines’ schedules.

Alaska Airlines and United Airlines already in compliance but…

Out of prudence, Simple Flying reached out to Alaska Airlines and got back the friendly comment of:

“The recent change announced by FAA will not impact our scheduling at Alaska Airlines. Our flight attendant contract for rest rules currently exceed what this change requires.”

According to the final rule packet, United Airlines also testified during the public comment period in support. Readers, however, should check their US 2022 holiday flight schedules and reach out to their airlines to ensure their booked flights will not be impacted. Especially as Airlines for America, which represents most US airlines, testified requesting a longer implementation time.