[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 10, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 52625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-24803]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
14 CFR Parts 121, 125, and 135

[Docket No. 27229]


Flight Attendant Duty Period Limitations and Rest Requirements

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration.

ACTION: Notification of compliance date for final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document specifies a date on and after which the Federal 
Aviation Administration expects full compliance with the duty 
limitations and rest requirements for flight attendants as required by 
Amendment Nos. 121-241; 125-21; and 135-52. This action is necessary 
following court action that stayed the compliance date for this final 
rule for all affected carriers based on a petition for review of the 
final rule from Sun Country Airlines, Inc., and the court's subsequent 
denial of the petition.

DATES: Affected air carriers and commercial operators are notified that 
the FAA will begin enforcing the flight attendant duty limitations and 
rest requirements rules published at 59 FR 42974 (August 19, 1994) on 
February 1, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Donell Pollard, Air Transportation Division, Flight Standards Service, 
AFS-203, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Ave., SW., 
Washington, DC 20591, (202) 267-3735.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Availability of the Notice

    Any person may obtain a copy of this notice by submitting a request 
to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Public Affairs, 
Attention: Public Inquiry Center, APA-430, 800 Independence Ave., SW., 
Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-3484. Requests must 
include the subject matter of this notice.

Background

    On August 19, 1994, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 
published in the Federal Register at 59 FR 42974, a final rule 
requiring air carriers, air taxi, and commercial operators to provide 
duty period limitations and rest requirements for flight attendants 
engaged in air transportation and air commerce. The FAA found that this 
action was necessary to ensure that flight attendants would be rested 
sufficiently to perform their routine and emergency safety duties. As a 
base level, the rule requires that a flight attendant be given 9 hours 
of rest following up to 14 hours of scheduled flight duty. However, the 
scheduled duty period may be extended if the carrier augments the 
flight attendant crew and provides additional hours of rest. The rule 
also provides that flight attendants be given 24 consecutive hours of 
rest during any 7 consecutive days. The rule contains a definition of 
`rest period' as being free of all restraint or duty and free of all 
responsibility for work or duty should the occasion arise. The final 
rule also allows operators to apply pilot rest and duty requirements to 
its flight attendants as an alternative to this final rule.
    The final rule was effective September 19, 1994, with a compliance 
date of March 1, 1995, except for certain recording requirements. By 
publication in the Federal Register on October 19, 1994, the recording 
requirements were made effective on November 18, 1994. The compliance 
date of March 1, 1995, was restated in that amendment.
    Sun Country Airlines challenged this rule, and on February 13, 
1995, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stayed 
the compliance date of the rule for all air carriers, air taxis and 
commercial operators. The Court issued its decision denying Sun Country 
Airlines' petition for review on May 30, 1995. A subsequent petition 
for rehearing and stay of its mandate were denied on August 24, 1995. 
The Court issued its mandate, lifting the stay, on August 25, 1995.
    Because the original compliance date is now past, the FAA must 
establish a new date for the flight attendant rest and duty 
regulations. The FAA recognizes that many operators are already in 
compliance with the rule. The FAA also realizes that it will take some 
time for operators, who are not in compliance with the proposed rule, 
to develop and implement flight attendant schedules needed to comply 
with the rules. The FAA is also cognizant of the problems associated 
with developing schedules and adhering to those schedules during the 
Holiday season. Because of these considerations, the FAA is allowing 
sufficient time for operators to develop the procedures needed to 
comply with the rules. Therefore, the FAA expects full compliance with 
the flight attendant duty limitations and rest requirements final rule 
by February 1, 1996, and the FAA will take appropriate action against 
any operator that is not in full compliance by that date.

    Issued in Washington, DC on September 28, 1995.
Thomas C. Accardi,
Director, Flight Standards Service.
[FR Doc. 95-24803 Filed 10-6-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M