FAA to Require Additional Rest for Flight Attendants to Reduce Fatigue

A flight attendant walks through an airplane before the plane's descent into the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 24, 2021. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will require, as of Oct. 5, that airline flight attendants receive at least 10 hours of additional rest between shifts, reported CNN.

The FAA proposed the rule in October 2021, after the U.S. Congress approved it 2018; it was not, however, approved until this week.

Flight attendants officially get at least nine hours of rest time, according to current regulations, after being on duty 14 hours or less; but most get as little as eight hours under certain circumstances.

“Flight attendants, like all essential transportation workers, work hard every day to keep the traveling public safely, and we owe them our full support,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement.

“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.”

Airline crew unions have have been fighting for years for the change, explaining that flight attendants were heavily fatigued and overworked after multiple flights.

They have been urging the quick adoption of the new rules also for safety and security reasons.

During the pandemic, for example, flight staff were swamped with unruly passenger incidents and abuse, which hit an all-time annual record of 1,099 in 2021, after a federal mask mandate was enforced on all public carriers.

Although physical altercations have declined since then, they are still well above pre-pandemic numbers, according to FAA data.

A Long-Awaited Change Brings Relief to Flight Crews

“COVID has only exacerbated the safety gap with long duty days, short nights, and combative conditions on planes,” explained Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents 50,000 workers at 17 airlines, in a statement to CNN.

Flight attendants told CNN that the post-pandemic surge in demand has also been hard on them this year.

After downsizing during the pandemic, the airlines have been struggling to rapidly rebuild their operations and have pushed their employees to work longer shifts.

This has led airline worker unions to demand better pay and improved conditions due to the spike in work hours.

A congressionally mandated study found that flight attendants faced increased risk for cancer, cardiac issues, and respiratory issues, partially due to the lack of rest, calling the nine-hour requirement a “safety loophole.”

Another union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents more than 24,000 American Airlines flight attendants, announced a statement calling the last three years “incredibly trying” for flight attendants.

“We have reached this critical milestone today as a result of working together with our labor partners and Washington,” said Julie Hedrick, the union’s president, in a statement to The Hill.

“Flight attendants across the country are cheering this announcement,” Hedrick said.

House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who is retiring from office after his current term, made the implementation of the rules a priority last week, according to CNN.

The new FAA rule will become effective 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register.

Airline Industry Adjusts to the Changes

Two years ago, Delta was the first major U.S.-based carrier to announce its observation of the new 10-hour mandate, after the FAA published advance notice of the planned changes, in 2019.

Airlines for America, the trade group representing several major U.S. carriers such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, estimated that the changes would cost the airlines $786 million over the next decade for 66 percent of its flight attendants due to losses ranging from unpaid idle time away from home and schedule disruptions.

“The safety of all crewmembers and passengers is always the top priority of the U.S. airline industry,” Hannah Walden, an Airlines for America spokeswoman, told The Hill.

“We are proud of our industry’s safety record, and are committed to ensuring air travel remains the safest mode of transportation in the world,” she continued.

“Having rested and alert flight attendants who are prepared to carry out their responsibilities, including cabin safety and other duties, is critical to this goal. This is why we continue to support scientifically validated and data-driven countermeasures to prevent fatigue.”

The FAA cited in a 2021 report that their was “potential for fatigue to be associated with poor performance of safety and security related tasks.”

The agency estimated that the new regulations could prompt the industry to hire another 1,042 flight attendants in order to relieve their overworked employees, which will cost $118 million annually.

Estimated costs could be reduced by more than 30 percent if hiring estimates were cut in half, said the FAA.

“It’s been a long road, and it’s about time,” said acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen at a press conference.

“I can tell you it’s been a priority for me and for this administration, and that’s why we are here today. I’m a pilot, and as any pilot can tell you, we cannot fly the plane without this safety expertise and support of flight attendants.”

Reuters contributed to this report.