FAA Clarifies 2012 Flight Duty And Rest Final Rule—Areas Of Potential Ongoing Concern

On March 5, 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration published its response to a set of clarifying questions associated with the agency's new flight, duty, and rest final rule. 78 Fed. Reg. 14166 (March 5, 2013). While the notice addresses several issues of importance to air carriers, the thorniest questions addressed by the FAA were calculation of reserve periods, the circumstances under which a pilot or navigator ("flight crew member") may exceed the limitations on flight time and flight duty periods, and the impact of early morning report times on flight duty periods scheduled for more than three consecutive days.

The clarifications apply to the new flight, duty, and rest rules that were published by the FAA on January 4, 2012, and take effect January 4, 2014. 77 Fed. Reg. 330 (January 4, 2012).¹ Those rules impose new limitations on the number of hours flight crew members engaged in passenger operations under 14 CFR Part 121 can work, as well as new requirements