Flight attendants of US airlines will soon get more rest.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday announced a final rule that would give flight attendants at least 10 hours of rest when they are scheduled on duty for 14 hours or less. That’s an increase from current regulations that require at least nine hours of rest.
Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA): “Increasing rest periods for flight attendants to remedy historical inequity,” Acting Administrator FAA Billy Nolen said at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) while flight attendants from America’s largest airlines.
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He noted that the move would bring in line flight attendant regulations for US pilots, who are – in most situations – required to rest for at least 10 hours between periods. do the misson.
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, an association representing flight attendants at United Airlines, Alaska Airlines and smaller airlines.
“The flight attendants were basically left on the cutting room floor,” Nelson said at the DC event. “We had to fight forward.”
Congress authorized the new rest rule in the FAA’s 2018 reauthorization law. Nelson said that the Trump administration tried to kill off the rule, while the Biden administration quickly followed it up.
“[President Biden] promised our union that this would be the priority of the administration,” she said.
Than: A flight attendant talks about a tiring schedule
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Pete DeFazio (D-Oregon) – who pushed for the regulation to be put into law in 2018 – said the move was welcome and well overdue.
“After a nearly four-year delay, flight attendants – who operate in complex, dynamic and often toxic work environments – will have the rest they need to carry out their duties and make the most of them.” enjoy a better quality of life,” DeFazio said in a statement.
The final rule will take effect just 30 days after it is officially published in the Federal Register, the official government journal.
The aviation industry, which will be tasked with following the regulation, said it supported the move.
Airlines for America, the industry’s lobbying arm, said in a statement: “Rest and alert flight attendants to prepare to carry out their responsibilities, including cabin safety and other duties. , is crucial to this goal”. “This is why we continue to support scientifically validated and data-driven countermeasures to prevent fatigue.”
