The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Tuesday that it has finalized a rule to ensure that flight attendants get more rest between work days — no less than 10 hours.
What the rule does: Congress mandated increased rest breaks in the 2018 FAA reauthorization, and the FAA published the proposed rule nearly a year ago. Under the rule, flight attendants are entitled to a minimum rest period of at least 10 consecutive hours when they’re scheduled to work for 14 hours or less. The law allows for no reduction of the rest period under any circumstances.
“I’m a pilot, and as any pilot can tell you, we cannot fly the plane without the safety expertise and support of flight attendants,” said acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolan at a press conference Tuesday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. “Flight attendants are trained to take action during emergencies. administer first aid, conduct evacuations, manage medical emergencies.”
Until now, the rule required nine hours of rest between flight attendant shifts, and even that could be reduced to eight in some circumstances. Pilots are already guaranteed 10 hours’ rest.
“Proper rest is critical for flight attendants to do our work as aviation’s first responders,” Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson said in a statement following Tuesday’s announcement. “Flight attendants need this rest to do our jobs.”
Context: House Transportation Chair Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) had pushed for the rule and pressed the FAA on the delays in promulgating it. Last week, he promised Nelson, “We’re going to get flight attendant duty time over the line before I’m retired. It’s only been five years after all.” His predecessor, Norm Mineta, first proposed the minimum rest in 1994.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, was another champion of the bill. She said in 2017 that she regretted that the previous FAA bill had given flight attendants less rest time than pilots and vowed that the 2018 bill would bring them to parity, which it did.
“Flight attendants perform critical safety roles on behalf of the flying public and have long deserved the same rest periods afforded to pilots,” said Cantwell in a statement following Tuesday’s announcement.
What’s next: Airlines have 90 days to comply with the new rule.