Biden-Harris Administration extends rest periods for Flight Attendants

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a final rule requiring that flight attendants receive longer periods of rest between shifts. The new rule increases the rest period to 10 consecutive hours.

“Flight attendants, like all essential transportation workers, work hard every day to keep the traveling public safe, and we owe them our full support,” said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This new rule will make it easier for flight attendants to do their jobs, which in turn will keep all of us safe in the air.”

The new rule updates the previous requirement of nine consecutive hours of rest between shifts. It also fulfills the requirements of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which directed the FAA to increase the minimum rest period for flight attendants with scheduled duty of 14 hours or less and eliminate the provision that permitted rest to be reduced in certain circumstances.

Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen.

The FAA held two public comment periods totaling more than 105 days on the proposed rest requirement in 2019 and 2021. The agency reviewed over 1,000 comments from flight attendants, airlines and the public. The final rule will become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

In his speech on Tuesday (4th October), Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said:

Earlier this morning, I signed the paperwork and, the ink may be drying still, that increases rest periods for flight attendants to 10 consecutive hours. No exceptions!

It’s been a long road, and it’s about time. I can tell you it’s been a priority for me and for this administration, and that’s why we’re here today.

I am a pilot. Any pilot will tell you that we cannot fly the plane without the safety expertise and support of flight attendants.

Flight attendants are trained to take action during emergencies, administer first aid, conduct evacuations and manage medical emergencies. They know the location of every piece of equipment needed during an emergency - fire extinguishers, first aid kits, flotation devices, oxygen masks, and emergency slides. They also have to check that equipment before flight.

I spent 11 years as captain on the MD80. And I remember having a hydraulic issue on one flight. I briefed the flight attendants, and we let the passengers know we were returning to Dallas due to a mechanical issue.

As always, the flight attendants did an incredible job making sure the passengers were informed, but also making sure they were safe and felt confident as we returned to the airport.

During those years, I remember many times being at maximum duty with minimal layover time. And flight attendants had even fewer rest hours than pilots. I worked alongside them, traveled with them, and I will tell you firsthand that well rested crewmembers are important to safety.

And, as we have seen too often recently, they are on the front lines responding to unruly passengers who could threaten the safety of the flight and other passengers.

Like I said, they need just as much rest. Because flight attendants are the foundation of aviation’s safety culture, starting with cabin safety.

Everyone knows about the landing of US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River. There were actually two miracles on the Hudson that day - first, landing the plane. The second was just as important: it was the flight attendants who got the passengers off the plane and kept them safe throughout the entire event.

The bottom line is that the rest period increase for flight attendants corrects a historical inequity.

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 6th October 2022 | Issue #672