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(a) Minimum rest period at home base.
(1) The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting at home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 12 hours, whichever is greater.
(2) By way of derogation from point (1), the minimum rest provided under point (b) applies if the operator provides suitable accommodation to the crew member at home base.
GM1 ORO.FTL.235(a)(2) Rest Periods
(b) Minimum rest period away from home base.
The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting away from home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 10 hours, whichever is greater. This period shall include an 8-hour sleep opportunity in addition to the time for travelling and physiological needs.
AMC1 ORO.FTL.235(b) Rest Periods
(c) Reduced rest
By derogation from points (a) and (b), flight time specification schemes may reduce the minimum rest periods in accordance with the certification specifications applicable to the type of operation and taking into account the following elements:
(1) the minimum reduced rest period;
(2) the increase of the subsequent rest period; and
(3) the reduction of the FDP following the reduced rest.
(d) Recurrent extended recovery rest periods Flight time specification schemes shall specify recurrent extended recovery rest periods to compensate for cumulative fatigue. The minimum recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be 36 hours, including 2 local nights, and in any case the time between the end of one recurrent extended recovery rest period and the start of the next extended recovery rest period shall not be more than 168 hours. The recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be increased to 2 local days twice every month.
(e) Flight time specification schemes shall specify additional rest periods in accordance with the applicable certification specifications to compensate for:
(1) the effects of time zone differences and extensions of the FDP;
(2) additional cumulative fatigue due to disruptive schedules; and
(3) a change of home base.
Understanding EASA ORO.FTL 2016 
Can crew member be contacted by an operator, if the rest periot is during day time?
For example:
Crew have STBY from 0800-1400LT and after he should have rest. Can operator contact crew member at 1500LT to ask, if crew member is ready for operations at 0600LT next day?
Thank you.
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Janis,
You asked the following:
Can crew member be contacted by an operator, if the rest periot is during day time?
For example:
Crew have STBY from 0800-1400LT and after he should have rest. Can operator contact crew member at 1500LT to ask, if crew member is ready for operations at 0600LT next day?
A crewmember assigned to STBY (Other than Airport Standby) must meet the following regulatory requirements:
CS FTL.1.225(b) Standby.
(b) Standby other than airport standby:
(1) the maximum duration of standby other than airport standby is 16 hours;
(2) The operator’s standby procedures are designed to ensure that the combination of standby and FDP do not lead to more than 18 hours awake time;
(3) 25% of time spent on standby other than airport standby counts as duty time for the purpose of ORO.FTL.210;
(4) standby is followed by a rest period in accordance with ORO.FTL.235;
(5) standby ceases when the crew member reports at the designated reporting point;
(6) if standby ceases within the first 6 hours, the maximum FDP counts from reporting;
(7) if standby ceases after the first 6 hours, the maximum FDP is reduced by the amount of standby time exceeding 6 hours;
(8) if the FDP is extended due to in-flight rest according to CS FTL.1.205(c), or to split duty according to CS FTL.1.220, the 6 hours of paragraph (6) and (7) are extended to 8 hours;
(9) if standby starts between 23:00 and 07:00, the time between 23:00 and 07:00 does not count towards the reduction of the FDP under (6), (7) and (8) until the crew member is contacted by the operator; and
(10) the response time between call and reporting time established by the operator allows the crew member to arrive from his/her place of rest to the designated reporting point within a reasonable time.
In the situation presented, the STBY is in a questionable area.
1) It is less than 16:00 in duration. Sub paragraph (1) above. So the duration of the STBY is legal.
The rest period after the time the STBY ended, at the point of notification, is from 15 LT to 06 LT is 15:00 in duration. Under ORO.FTL.235 (a)(1) the minimum Rest at base is satisfied.
ORO.FTL.235 Rest Periods
(a) Minimum rest period at home base.
(1) The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting at home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 12 hours, whichever is greater.
However, if the crew member has already ended the STBY, there can be a problem with the airline attempting to contact the crew member, unless procedures for contacting the crew member when ‘off duty’ are established. Under the FAA rules, the airline may attempt to contact, but the crew member cannot be obligated to respond while on a designated off duty period. While the FAA rules are not part of the EASA rules, the basic principle is somewhat the same based upon the definition in the EASA rules:
(20) “reserve” means a period of time during which a crew member is required by the operator to be available to receive an assignment for an FDP, positioning or other duty notified at least 10 hours in advance;
(21) “rest period” means a continuous, uninterrupted and defined period of time, following duty or prior to duty, during which a crew member is free of all duties, standby and reserve;
(25) “standby” means a pre-notified and defined period of time during which a crew member is required by the operator to be available to receive an assignment for a flight, positioning or other duty without an intervening rest period;
As I stated before the Rest Period aspect seems to have been met, but the Standby aspect seems to be in a questionable area, as the contact has occurred after the Standby has ended, but within the 16 hour window from the start of the Standby. Further, by keeping the crew member contactable for an additional period of time, seems to circumvent the requirement in CS FTL.1.225(3) for that period while still contactable.
My opinion, is that the airline is mixing the purpose of Standby with Reserve.
My suggestion is that you have a discussion with your airline regarding this matter to help clear up the inconsistencies/understanding of the particulars that surround this issue.
I caution you, I am not with the EASA or any local CAA/NAA, or any airline, or union so my opinions may be different.
I hope this response helps to aide you in your understanding.
/Garret
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Let’s say you have had a 2 leg flight from Athens to Stockholm and back. Total duty time was 10 hours. It was 01:30L by the time you got back. Meaning it was locally the next day. Since a day is defined to start at 00:01 and end at 24:00, would it be against regulations to sign in the same day in the afternoon, lets say at 16:30, for your next flight or not. In short can we have two separate flight ops in the same day starting at our home base?
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In short, yes it is legal.
With a 10:00 duty time the minimum rest is 12:00 at base.
ORO.FTL.235 Rest Periods
(a) Minimum rest period at home base.
(1) The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting at home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 12 hours, whichever is greater.
No knowing how long the next duty is makes me wonder about it’s total validity.
If the second duty is more than 10:00 it could be assumed to be a “Long Night Duty” whereby
GM1 CS FTL.1.205(a)(2) Flight Duty Period (FDP)
NIGHT DUTIES – APPROPRIATE FATIGUE RISK MANAGEMENT
Should be examined.
I suggest you have a word with your company to express your concerns.
/Garret
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Let’s say I’m flying my 2 Legs on medium haul and thereafter my operator requires me to start a recurrent training after only 8 hours of uninterrupted rest because, (that’s what’s they assume) I need the rest period of 12 Hrs only before undertaking the next FDP. Since I have to drive by car to and from the recurrent course, I am not flying and therefore not anymore subject to EASA FTL. Fact is my minimum rest period will be reduced and I need to know if I have to accept it or if I can insist to have my 12 hours after checkout before being assigned to any other duty.
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Renzo,
You asked the following:
Let’s say I’m flying my 2 Legs on medium haul and thereafter my operator requires me to start a recurrent training after only 8 hours of uninterrupted rest because, (that’s what’s they assume) I need the rest period of 12 Hrs only before undertaking the next FDP. Since I have to drive by car to and from the recurrent course, I am not flying and therefore not anymore subject to EASA FTL. Fact is my minimum rest period will be reduced and I need to know if I have to accept it or if I can insist to have my 12 hours after checkout before being assigned to any other duty.
EASA provides the following:
ORO.FTL.105 Definitions
(10) “duty” means any task that a crew member performs for the operator, including flight duty, administrative work, giving or receiving training and checking, positioning, and some elements of standby;
(11) “duty period” means a period which starts when a crew member is required by an operator to report for or to commence a duty and ends when that person is free of all duties, including post-flight duty;
(12) “flight duty period (FDP)” means a period that commences when a crew member is required to report for duty, which includes a sector or a series of sectors, and finishes when the aircraft finally comes to rest and the engines are shut down, at the end of the last sector on which the crew member acts as an operating crew member;
(21) “rest period” means a continuous, uninterrupted and defined period of time, following duty or prior to duty, during which a crew member is free of all duties, standby and reserve;
ORO.FTL.235 Rest Periods
(a) Minimum rest period at home base.
(1) The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting at home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 12 hours, whichever is greater.
(2) By way of derogation from point (1), the minimum rest provided under point (b) applies if the operator provides suitable accommodation to the crew member at home base.
Looking at the situation you are presenting, the 8:00 period prior to beginning the recurrent training (RCT) would not qualify as rest, the minimum rest period without a suitable accommodation at home base is 12:00 or at least as long as the length of the preceding duty period. So in the case presented, the crew member is on continuous duty from the start of the 2-leg FDP until the conclusion of the RCT, thus depending upon how long the continuous duty period (including the 8:00 break in duty), the minimum rest following the RCT is 12:00 or the length of the continuous duty period.
So lets say the FDP is 5:00, plus the 8:00 break plus the RCT of 4:00, the minimum rest period following the RCT would be 17:00.
I would also question the effectiveness of the RCT with less than a full rest period.
/Garret
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Absolutely, the effectiveness is another important point. But according my roster I should check in at 14:00 UTC fly until 18:30 UTC (with checkout at 19:00), depart with a rental car the day after at 05:00 UTC return to Homebase at 19:00 UTC. After that, they give me 3 Day’s off. The point is, am I legal?
Since I will not touch an Airplane except at the beginning, can the company pretend a duty, which at the end lasts 29 hours?
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The FDP is 4:30 with a 5:00 Duty, the 10:00 (19:00 to 05:00) rest period (away from base), so the rest period meets the criteria in:
ORO.FTL.235(b)
(b) Minimum rest period away from home base.
The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting away from home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 10 hours, whichever is greater. This period shall include an 8-hour sleep opportunity in addition to the time for travelling and physiological needs.
So the duty is not a continuous duty.
The RTC is 14:00 of duty (05:00 to 19:00), thm minimum rest in base is 14:00, so the three day rest is legal.
/Garret
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Hi Renzo,
We have the same problem in my airline. The fact is that before the recurrent training you do not need the 12 hours as it is not considered an FDP but just only a duty. The mínimum rest is only defined as “before undertaking an FDP”.
When we perform ground duties we do not need to have 12hours.
BR
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The flight duty will start and finish AT and not away from my home base that’s why i will insist with having the course postponed.
Anyway thank you verry much for your help,
Renzo
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Let me present you with the following scenario:
A standby duty starts at 0300LT. At 2325LT the preceding day I get a notification that I have changes to my roster to following day. The notification involves me to report at 0300LT. How is this scenario covered by EASE FTL’s, where the company interrupts my rest to invoke a change to my roster which they would not have been able to cover from my standby start? Thanks very much in advance.
Kind Regards,
Anthony F.
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Anthony,
While no specific requirements under ORO.FTL.225 CS FTL.1.225 with respect to rest periods before the start of a standby exist, carriers still must meet the objectives in ORO.FTL.110.
An operator shall:
(a) publish duty rosters sufficiently in advance to provide the opportunity for crew members to plan adequate rest;
(b) ensure that flight duty periods are planned in a way that enables crew members to remain sufficiently free from fatigue so that they can operate to a satisfactory level of safety under all circumstances;
As a general rule, contacting a crew member during the last 10 hours of a rest period, to notify him/her of a change seems to be contradict ORO.FTL.110.
However, precedence for such actions is not totally out of the the airlines abilities.
Under the FAA FAR 121 and 117, it has been understood, that an operator may attempt to contact a crew member to advise of a change, whereby it is also understood, that during a rest period, the crew member has no obligation to respond to such an attempt, also if the crew member does respond, they may decline a request until they have completed the rest period.
Basically, if the individual believes that they will be sufficiently rested and fit for duty as outlined in your scenario, it may be legal, but the airline should understand that requesting such changes would/should be an extraordinary exception to the rule, not a general scheduling practice. Such exceptions to the general practice would best be included in an operation manual (OM), including crew members rights of refusal.
I suggest you have a discussion with your airline over such matters.
/Garret
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EARLIEST PICK UP FROM HOTEL AFTER LOKAL NIGHT:
What is the earliest pick up time after staying in a hotel (company accommodation) and after a require local night?
Would you agree with 5:30 because of max 30 min traveling time local transport to the airport or is it 06:00?
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Georg,
you asked:
What is the earliest pick up time after staying in a hotel (company accommodation) and after a require local night?
Would you agree with 5:30 because of max 30 min traveling time local transport to the airport or is it 06:00?
Not precisely.
A Local Nights Rest must meet the conditions set in ORO.FTL.105:
(16) “local night” means a period of 8 hours falling between 22:00 and 08:00 local time;
So, you are correct in identifying that the earliest report time is 06:00, thus the rest period period must have started no later than 22:00.
The Absolute minimum rest period that is to be provided when a suitable accommodation is being provided is 10:00, however, that rest period is obligated to always be able to provide a sleep oppoutunity that is never less than 8:00 and 1:00 for physiological needs, hence a 9:00 period in the hotel. So 10:00 – 9:00 = 1:00, thereby the travel time should never less than 0:30 each way. If the travel time is greater than 0:30 each way the rest period should be increased so the 9:00 is still maintained.
Examples:
Expected Travel time is 0:30, then (0:30 * 2) + 9:00 = 10:00 minimum rest. The earliest pickup is 6:00 – 0:30 = 05:30 .
Expected Travel time is 0:40, then (0:40 * 2) + 9:00 = 10:20 minimum rest. The earliest pickup is 6:00 – 0:40 = 05:20.
Expected Travel time is 0:20, then (0:30 * 2) + 9:00 = 10:00 minimum rest. The earliest pickup is 6:00 – 0:20 = 05:40, the rest period uses a minimum travel time of 0:30.
/Garret
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Can min rest away from base always be reduced to 10 hours irrespective of the length of the preceding duty?
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No.
The requirements are stipulated in:
ORO.FTL 235 Rest Periods
(b) Minimum rest period away from home base.
The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting away from home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 10 hours, whichever is greater. This period shall include an 8-hour sleep opportunity in addition to the time for travelling and physiological needs.
(c) Reduced rest
By derogation from points (a) and (b), flight time specification schemes may reduce the minimum rest periods in accordance with the certification specifications applicable to the type of operation and taking into account the following elements:
(1) the minimum reduced rest period;
(2) the increase of the subsequent rest period; and
(3) the reduction of the FDP following the reduced rest.
(e) Flight time specification schemes shall specify additional rest periods in accordance with the applicable certification specifications to compensate for:
(1) the effects of time zone differences and extensions of the FDP;
(2) additional cumulative fatigue due to disruptive schedules; and
(3) a change of home base.
CS FTL.1.235 Rest Periods
(a) Disruptive schedules
(1) If a transition from a late finish/night duty to an early start is planned at home base, the rest period between the 2 FDPs includes 1 local night.
(b) Time zone differences
(3) Time zone differences are compensated by additional rest, as follows:
(ii) Away from home base, if an FDP involves a 4-hour time difference or more, the minimum rest following that FDP is at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 14 hours, whichever is greater. By way of derogation from point (b)(3)(i) and only once between 2 recurrent extended recovery rest periods as specified in ORO.FTL.235(d), the minimum rest provided under this point (b)(3)(ii) may also apply to home base if the operator provides suitable accommodation to the crew member.
(c) Reduced rest
(1) The minimum reduced rest periods under reduced rest arrangements are 12 hours at home base and 10 hours out of base.
(2) Reduced rest is used under fatigue risk management.
(3) The rest period following the reduced rest is extended by the difference between the minimum rest period specified in ORO.FTL.235(a) or (b) and the reduced rest.
(4) The FDP following the reduced rest is reduced by the difference between the minimum rest period specified in ORO.FTL.235(a) or (b) as applicable and the reduced rest.
(5) There is a maximum of 2 reduced rest periods between 2 recurrent extended recovery rest periods specified in accordance with ORO.FTL.235(d).
AMC1 ORO.FTL.235(b) Rest Periods
MINIMUM REST PERIOD AWAY FROM HOME BASE
The time allowed for physiological needs should be 1 hour. Consequently, if the travelling time to the suitable accommodation is more than 30 minutes, the operator should increase the rest period by twice the amount of difference of travelling time above 30 minutes.
ORO.FTL.220 Split Duty
The conditions for extending the basic maximum FDP due to a break on the ground shall be in accordance with the following:
(c) split duty shall not follow a reduced rest.
CS FTL.1.205 Flight Duty Period (FDP)
(d) The extension of FDP with in-flight rest under the provisions of ORO.FTL.205(e)
(6) The minimum rest at destination is at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 14 hours, whichever is greater.
To summarize the conditions above when a rest period is not permitted to be reduced:
1) If the operator does not have an approved FRM the rest is not permitted to be reduced (CS FTL.1.235(c)(3)).
2) If the rest period is a transition from a late finish/night duty to an early start test rest period must include 2 local nights rest (CS FTL.1.235(a)(1)).
3) If the FDP involves a time zone difference of 4 hours or more, the minimum rest is 14:00 (CS FTL.1.235(b)(3)(ii)).
4) A rest period must include an 8 hour sleep opportunity, 1 hour physiological needs, and no less than 30 minutes travel time; whereby, if the travel time exceeds 30 minutes, twice the difference above 30 minutes must be added to the 10:00 minimum rest period. (AMC1 ORO.FTL.235(b)).
5) If the next FDP is a split duty period, the rest period may not be reduced, (ORO.FTL.220(c)).
6) If the preceding FDP has been extended, the minimum rest period is 14:00 (CS FTL.1.205(d)(6)).
/Garret
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The Recurrent extended recovery rest periods must be in Home Base?
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Best practices have it that the RERRP should be at home base whenever possible, but it is not required under EASA ORO.FTL.
1) It is less costly to the airline as a suitable accommodation is not required to be provided by the operator.
2) Individuals generally reduce stress; a major contributor to fatigue; by having extended rests at home.
Some national legislation within Europe requires transportation workers to have extended rest periods in the home environment, but it varies from country to country.
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If the RERRP is not required to be at the Home Base would the following scenario be legal:
1) Crew positioned at a XX destination;
2) Operations from and to that destination for a period of 1 month;
3) Recurrent extended recovery rest periods given in that destination;
4) After 1 month return to home base
Notes: How would you define the concepts of “Local Day”, “Local Night”, “Duty Period” and “Home Base” and the co-relation between them and being “forced” to spend your days off away from home and family?
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Hello Miquel,
You asked the following:
If the RERRP is not required to be at the Home Base would the following scenario be legal:
1) Crew positioned at a XX destination;
2) Operations from and to that destination for a period of 1 month;
3) Recurrent extended recovery rest periods given in that destination;
4) After 1 month return to home base
Notes: How would you define the concepts of “Local Day”, “Local Night”, “Duty Period” and “Home Base” and the co-relation between them and being “forced” to spend your days off away from home and family?
Under the scenario you asked it seems to me that the crew member has been rebased, under certain conditions:
I would believe that the crew member has been re-based when that individual will incure a normal ground travel time from home to the new airport where the normal ground travel time to from previous base to the new base will exceed 1:30 (90 minutes) AND the crew member will not be able to undertake a RERRP at the former base. Under such conditions the crew member should follow the guidance as provided in:
ORO.FTL.200 Home Base
An operator shall assign a home base to each crew member.
CS FTL.1.200 Home Base
(a) The home base is a single airport location assigned with a high degree of permanence.
(b) In the case of a change of home base, the first recurrent extended recovery rest period prior to starting duty at the new home base is increased to 72 hours, including 3 local nights. Travelling time between the former home base and the new home base is positioning.
GM1 CS FTL.1.200 Home Base
TRAVELLING TIME
Crew members should consider making arrangements for temporary accommodation closer to their home base if the travelling time from their residence to their home base usually exceeds 90 minutes.
So, if you meet the conditions as stated above, the calendar limitations for Cumulaitive Flight Time Limitations , Cumulaitive Duty time limitations set in ORO.210 should be based upon a local date/time of the new base. Further, the RERRP set in ORO.FTL.235(d) which requires 36:00 with 2 local nights increased to 2 local days twice every month will be based upon local time of the local time the new base, or the local time at the location where the RERRP is granted.
Shuoud the crew membert not meet the conditions above in ORO.FTL.200, they woud not be eligible to to actually receive an assignemnt.
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Thank you for the clarification.
Just to finish… would you agree with the following statement: Minimum RERRPs (7 days in a month period) cannot be deferred.
That is… may an operator roster a crew member for an extended operation and with his/her agreement assign the days off after returning to home base. This considering that the minimum 36 hours with 2 local nights were observed. This way a crew member could be placed for a period of 21 days
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Miquel,
You are welcome.
Now to your second question:
Just to finish… would you agree with the following statement:
Minimum RERRPs (7 days in a month period) cannot be deferred.
That is… may an operator roster a crew member for an extended operation and with his/her agreement assign the days off after returning to home base. This considering that the minimum 36 hours with 2 local nights were observed. This way a crew member could be placed for a period of 21 days.
RERRPs are governed under:
ORO.FTL.235(d) Recurrent extended recovery rest periods
Flight time specification schemes shall specify recurrent extended recovery rest periods to compensate for cumulative fatigue. The minimum recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be 36 hours, including 2 local nights, and in any case the time between the end of one recurrent extended recovery rest period and the start of the next extended recovery rest period shall not be more than 168 hours. The recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be increased to 2 local days twice every month.
Under this provision, whether at or away from base, a crew member must be able to find in the 168:00 period preceding the release of any duty period, a RERRP that has ended within that span of time. The RERRP must always include 2 local nights rest and may never be less than 36:00 as a single continuous rest period. A RERRP may be taken while away from base.
Given the conditions in your 21 days away from base, the crew member should have at least two RERRPs while away from base. 1 before the start of the 21 days, 1 at or before day 7, another at or before day 14 and 1 upon return to home base. The total RERRPs is 4 within a 24 days span.
The situation concerning 7 days in a month, I believe involves a single day free of duty (SDFD), as defined in ORO.FTL.105.
“single day free of duty” means, for the purpose of complying with the provisions of Council Directive 2000/79/EC, a time free of all duties and standby consisting of one day and two local nights, which is notified in advance. A rest period may be included as part of the single day free of duty;
EASA ORO.FTL, does not regulate SDFD, that is handled under 2000/79/EC and individual national government laws. Depending on the exact verbiage of the applicable laws, SDFD may or may not be required to be taken in the home base environment. So the 7 SDFD may possibly be deferred to after the 21 day period or granted to prior to the 21 day period.
While SDFD may or may not be deferred, RERRP’s are technically not supposed to be deferred/delayed, to a point beyond the 168:00 between RERRP’s, The only exception I could possibly conceive, would be due to some unforeseen circumstance, and I am sure the local NAA’s would look very closely at those situations.
I personally believe that the RERRP’s should be taken in the home environment to maximize the benefits of the rest, but that is my opinion.
Please discuss further with your Airline, Union and local NAA, as my opinion may differ.
/Garret
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A question with reference to ORO FTL 235. The rule regulates rest before undertaking an FDP. So my understanding is that it is legal to have any other kind of duty with less rest.
Ex.
Day 1 FDP 11.30-00.30 (away from base). Total duty 11.30-.01.00 = 13 h 30 min
Rest 01.00-13.30. = 12 h 30 h
Day 2 Positioning duty 13.30-18.00 (to home base)
This is as far as I understand legal. But if the following duty is an FDP?
Day 3 FDP 06.00-16.00 (after 12 h rest at home base)
Would this duty be legal? Or do the rest need to be min 13 h 30 min before the FDP on day 3 considering that the duty from day 1 was 13 h 30 min?
//”Early Type”
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Tommy, you asked the following:
A question with reference to ORO FTL 235. The rule regulates rest before undertaking an FDP. So my understanding is that it is legal to have any other kind of duty with less rest.
Ex.
Day 1 FDP 11.30-00.30 (away from base). Total duty 11.30-.01.00 = 13 h 30 min
Rest 01.00-13.30. = 12 h 30 h
Day 2 Positioning duty 13.30-18.00 (to home base)
This is as far as I understand legal. But if the following duty is an FDP?
Day 3 FDP 06.00-16.00 (after 12 h rest at home base)
Would this duty be legal? Or do the rest need to be min 13 h 30 min before the FDP on day 3 considering that the duty from day 1 was 13 h 30 min?
//”Early Type”
Your examples fall under:
ORO.FTL.235 Rest Periods
(a) Minimum rest period at home base.
(1) The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting at home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 12 hours, whichever is greater.
(2) By way of derogation from point (1), the minimum rest provided under point (b) applies if the operator provides suitable accommodation to the crew member at home base.
(b) Minimum rest period away from home base.
The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting away from home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 10 hours, whichever is greater. This period shall include an 8-hour sleep opportunity in addition to the time for travelling and physiological needs.
(c) Reduced rest
By derogation from points (a) and (b), flight time specification schemes may reduce the minimum rest periods in accordance with the certification specifications applicable to the type of operation and taking into account the following elements:
(1) the minimum reduced rest period;
(2) the increase of the subsequent rest period; and
(3) the reduction of the FDP following the reduced rest.
The rest away from home base following duty 1 falls under ORO.FTL.235(b) and (c)
The rest must be the length of the previous duty (13:30) or 10:00 which ever is greater (13:30). With only 12:30 rest provided, we now look at ORO.FTL.235(c).
Under the reduced rest provisions, the rest may be reduced to as little as 10:00, in your case it was only reduced to 12:30, a 1:00 reduction. the next rest period must be increased by 1:00 and the FDP limits is reduced by 1:00.
Duty period 2 is DHD only so no FDP reduction is required since it is at 0:00
The rest at home base following duty period 2 falls under ORO.FTL.235(a)(1) and (2).
The rest must be the length of the previous duty (5:30) or 12:00 which ever is greater (12:00). ORO.FTL.235(a)(1).
Since this rest also requires a 1:00 increase do to the previous rest period being reduced, the minimum rest at base now becomes 13:00 = ( 12:00 + 1:00 ). With it being a compensatory rest period, it is not permitted to be reduced to less than 13:00.
You did not inform me if the company is providing the CM a suitable accommodation at base. Under those conditions the required rest would then be the greater of the duty following duty 2 (5:30) or 10:00, 10:00 plus the 1:00 compensatory rest penalty (11:00)
This is basically re-stated in
CS FTL.1.235 Rest Periods
(c) Reduced rest
(1) The minimum reduced rest periods under reduced rest arrangements are 12 hours at home base and 10 hours out of base.
(2) Reduced rest is used under fatigue risk management.
(3) The rest period following the reduced rest is extended by the difference between the minimum rest period specified in ORO.FTL.235(a) or (b) and the reduced rest.
(4) The FDP following the reduced rest is reduced by the difference between the minimum rest period specified in ORO.FTL.235(a) or (b) as applicable and the reduced rest.
(5) There is a maximum of 2 reduced rest periods between 2 recurrent extended recovery rest periods specified in accordance with ORO.FTL.235(d).
In short the rest at base needs to be 13:00 and may not be reduced unless the airline provides a suitable accommodation, then the rest may be as little as 11:00.
I hope that my answer meets your needs.
Please review your OM as your company may have differing procedures. You may want to reach out to your local CAA as they are the best source for clarification, (the EASA is no longer answering questions concerning FTL and they are pushing it down to the CAA’s).
/Garret
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Many thanks for prompt reply!
Just so I do not misunderstand. Does the rest before the positioning duty on day 2 in the scenario above need to be at least as long as the previous duty (13h 30 min) not to fall under “reduced rest”? I was under the impression that ORO.FTL.235 only regulates rest period before undertaking an FDP. Or is the 13.30 h rest needed because of the FDP on day 3?
Reduced rest is not applicable in this scenario since our company does not have an approved FRM.
Regards
“Early Type”
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Tommy,
I understand no reduced rest cause you do not have FRM at your company so only ORO.FTL.235(a) and (b) will be applied.
Many thanks for prompt reply!
Just so I do not misunderstand. Does the rest before the positioning duty on day 2 in the scenario above need to be at least as long as the previous duty (13h 30 min) not to fall under “reduced rest”?
Correct, most airlines under EASA FTL are providing the rest immediately after the duty period.
Section (b) is applied under the following conditions:
the rest period is away from base
the rest period is preceding the next FDP
The next FDP is begins away from base
So a Duty period is completed away from base, before the start of the next FDP away from base, the rest is 10:00 or length of preceding duty. For any rest period away from base must meet this criteria or else the crew member (CM) has not been released into a legal rest period, so the CM will be considered to be still on duty. This is why most airlines are taking the rest as soon as possible.
In your original situation the rest period of 13:30 between duty 1 and duty 2.
ORO.FTL.235
(b) Minimum rest period away from home base.
The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting away from home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 10 hours, whichever is greater. This period shall include an 8-hour sleep opportunity in addition to the time for travelling and physiological needs.
I was under the impression that ORO.FTL.235 only regulates rest period before undertaking an FDP. Or is the 13.30 h rest needed because of the FDP on day 3?
Reduced rest is not applicable in this scenario since our company does not have an approved FRM
Let us assume that the rest between duty 1 and duty 2 is a legal rest period.
The rest at home base between simply need to meet the conditions in ORO.FTL.235(a), 12:00.
(a) Minimum rest period at home base.
(1) The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting at home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 12 hours, whichever is greater.
(2) By way of derogation from point (1), the minimum rest provided under point (b) applies if the operator provides suitable accommodation to the crew member at home base.
In summary, rest 1 is illegal should be 13:30 not 12;30.
Rest 2 is legal.
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Is here any clear statement for administrative time (office meetings after a flight)
Imagine flight starting at 5:00 outstation arriving 9:00 homebase, followed by a 4h meeting until 13:00. how would i have to calculate my min. Legal rest after this?
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In short, yes,
ORO.FTL.105 Definitions Provides:
(11) “duty period” means a period which starts when a crew member is required by an operator to report for or to commence a duty and ends when that person is free of all duties, including post-flight duty;
So unless the crew member has been released into a rest period, that crew member is still on duty.
ORO.FTL.235 Rest Periods stipulates that the rest at base must be at least 12:00 unless a suitable accommodation is provided.
(a) Minimum rest period at home base.
(1) The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting at home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 12 hours, whichever is greater.
(2) By way of derogation from point (1), the minimum rest provided under point (b) applies if the operator provides suitable accommodation to the crew member at home base.
In the case you provided the crew member is on duty from 05:00 to 13:00 for a total of 8:00, the minimum rest is 12:00, (10:00 with a suitable accommodation).
The FDP is only 4:00, so the FDP limits are fine.
All time on duty (8:00) will need to be applied towards the cumulative duty limits in ORO.FTL.205 Flight Times and Duty Periods.
/Garret
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Hallo, I am flight attendant in a VIP airline. Recently, I had a POS flight from ATH to DBX and as soon as I landed at 5:00am my company asked me to make a flight to Moscow which was 10hours flight time. When I said that this exceed a lot my duty limitations, company replied that I am not a FA but an escort on board. But in GENDEC they have me as crew. What rules stands for vip flight attendants that are not considered as CREW on board?
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Dear Garret,
I had a 2 sectors day finishing at 10am at home base.
I was under the impression i was entitled to a 12 hour rest (free from phone calls from the compagnie)
I got called at 16H to inform me of a roster change for the next day.
Is this allowed ? Is the 12h rest only preceding a duty ?
Thank you !
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Barb,
You aked the following:
I had a 2 sectors day finishing at 10am at home base.
I was under the impression i was entitled to a 12 hour rest (free from phone calls from the compagnie)
I got called at 16H to inform me of a roster change for the next day.
Is this allowed ? Is the 12h rest only preceding a duty?
It is allowed, but under exceptional circumstances.
A rest perioud is defined under ORO.FTL.105(21) “rest period” means a
continuous, uninterrupted and defined period of time, following duty or prior to duty, during which a crew member is
free of all duties
, standby and reserve;
An Operator may attempt to contact a crew member (CM) during a rest period, but the CM is under no obligation to answer/respond to the airline during a rest period. Should a CM volunteer to respond and the CM feels that they will be sufficiently rested the change in schedule may proceed. Should the CM feel that they will not be properly rested before commencing the next duty, the CM should decline the assignment based upon the potential of fatigue and advise the airline when they feel they will be ready to accept a new assignment.
If the Airline is rescheduling to start the next FDP at or after 04H the next day, the improper rest argument may not be valid as a 12:00 rest period is being provided.
An airline also has to understand that contacting a CM during a rest period may have an adverse and may disrupt the sleep a CM is attempting attain especially when a rest period includes the hours during normal waking hours (Day time) and make cause further disruption. This should be under ORO.FTL 110 Operator Responsibilities.
While the EASA has no policy, the FAA dose have a 1-phone call rule. The Airline may try once during any rest to period to contact the CM, the CM may cite that the rest period has now been broken and the they will attempt to get back to rest for the required amount. An airline calling more than once during the rest period may be construed as harassment.
/Garret
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Dear Garett,
Does 1 in 7 exist with EASA ?
Meaning one local day off per seven days.
I have had a mix of flying duties and stand by since the 29th of april and tomorrow on my seventh day i will have another flying duty starting at 15h and finishing on my 8th day at 00:05
Thank you in advance !
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Barb,
You asked the following:
Does 1 in 7 exist with EASA ?
Meaning one local day off per seven days.
I have had a mix of flying duties and stand by since the 29th of april and tomorrow on my seventh day i will have another flying duty starting at 15h and finishing on my 8th day at 00:05
Tecnically NO.
ORO.FTL has rest requirements which are defined in ORO.FTL.235.
Part of provision is that a Crew member must be provided a Recurrent Extended Recovery Rest Period (RERRP).
A RERRP must be at least 36:00 in duration, and it must include 2 Local Nights Rest.
A RERRP may be given at or away from base. The maximum amount of time from the end of the preceding RERRP to the start of the next RERRP may not be more than 168:00.
A RERRP must also be increased twice every month to include two full calendar days free from duty.
A crew member assigned to Standby or Reserve (even if not called) is not on an RERRP and cannot be retroactively considered to have been given a RERRP as the crew member is free from all duty as they must me contactable and available to be assigned a duty.
Best practices: generally will place the crew member on RERRP when at base.
Do not confuse a RERRP withe a “single day free of duty” (SDFD), while similar, ORO.FTL does not actually enforce this, it merely defines it. a SDFD is controlloed by national/local labor laws,; not by EASA.
/Garret
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Is it allowed to contact a crew member less than 12 hours before the scheduled flight duty / standby, or in other words does one not need 12 hours of UNINTERRUPTED rest time before duty start?
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A crew member on Standby may be contacted with less than 12:00 notice.
CS FTL.1.225(b)
A crew member on Reserve must first be given the required rest period before starting any FDP or duty.
ORO.FTL.230 CS FTL.1.230,
GM2 CS FTL.1.230 requires as little as 10 hours notification.
A crew member may be contacted during a required rest period to be notified of a delayed reporting ORO.FTL.205(g), CS FTL.1.205(d)
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Dear Garett,
does the rest period away from home base end at the time of pick up from the hotel or at the time of check-in (one hour before the flight) for the succeeding FDP?
Thanks!
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Say you have a local day flying from base. The next day you only have a positioning flight away from base, no active legs. What is the minimum rest period at home base, before reporting for the positioning flight the day after, considering there will be no active FDP that day?
Regards JP
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Hi Garret!
When a crew member is scheduled a consecutive of 10 days OFF without an additional rest period applying to the requirements of RERRP of 2 local nights, does this accommodate the requirement of the following rule:
AMC1 ORO.FTL.235(b) Rest Periods
(d) ……….. The recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be increased to 2 local days twice every month.
Appreciate your answer!
George
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George,
I believe the 10 days off would satisfy the 2 local days off, twice in the month rule.
Each occurrence of the 2 local days off, must be contained within the month being evaluated.
So if the 10 days off was split as the last 5 days off in Feb. and the first 5 days off in Mar. Both Feb and Mar are met this requirement.
If the days off were split as 8 days in Feb and 2 days in Mar, Feb meets the Requirement, while Mar will need another 2 days off consecutively within Mar.
Likewise with 2 days off in Feb and 8 days in Mar, the requirement is met for Mar, but Feb must have had an additional 2 days off consecutively within Feb.
Under all circumstances, the calendar day/month measurement uses Home Base Time, and should have been scheduled in advance to the crew member. RERRP are permitted to be provided concurrently with other rest requirements in ORO.FTL.235 and they may be provided at or away from home base, (Best practices will have the RERRP provided in the home environment).
/Garret
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Thank you Garret! Appreciate your thourough reply!
Cheers
George
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Hello there
I have a random question about AMC1 ORO.FTL.235(b).
If the travel time is greater than one hour when away from base but I still get an 8 hour sleep opportunity, is this okay?
For example, if my duty is 11.5 hours long, technically, I would need 11.5 hours rest. But what if the travel time to and from the hotel is 1 hr and 20 mins? Does the rest have to be increased by 40 minutes or is it okay because I still have an 8 hour sleep opportunity?
Any help would be great!
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Gary,
With respect to your question concerning rest requirements:
ORO.FTL 105 Definitions
(21) “rest period” means a continuous, uninterrupted and defined period of time, following duty or prior to duty, during which a crew member is free of all duties, standby and reserve;
When a crew member is away from base the minimum rest period is 10:00, (ORO.FTL 235(b))
(b) Minimum rest period away from home base.
The minimum rest period provided before undertaking an FDP starting away from home base shall be at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 10 hours, whichever is greater. This period shall include an 8-hour sleep opportunity in addition to the time for travelling and physiological needs.
These requirements are further clarified by: AMC1 ORO.FTL.235(b)
MINIMUM REST PERIOD AWAY FROM HOME BASE
The time allowed for physiological needs should be 1 hour. Consequently, if the travelling time to the suitable accommodation is more than 30 minutes, the operator should increase the rest period by twice the amount of difference of travelling time above 30 minutes.
To address you example:
Duty period of 11:30 in duration, with a total travel time to/from suitable accommodation 1:20 (0:40 to/from).
If we add 8:00 (sleep opportunity) + 1:00 (physiological needs) + 1:20 (total travel time) = 10:20 (minimum rest period); however, under the regulations the rest period must be at least the length of previous duty period (11:20).
If we adjust your example:
Duty period of 9:30 in duration, with a total travel time to/from suitable accommodation 1:20 (0:40 to/from).
If we add 8:00 (sleep opportunity) + 1:00 (physiological needs) + 1:20 (total travel time) = 10:20 (minimum rest period); this will exceed the requirement under the regulations where the rest period must be at least the length of previous duty period (9:30) but no less than 10:00.
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Hello,
Your flight arrival has been delayed and you have only 11.30 rest before the next rostered flight.
Can the operator call you before the Check in time to tell you that the flight has been delayed by 30 mins in order for you to have the minimum 12hrs.?
I believe that you should not be contacted during your minimum legal rest period because you are being Interrupted ie not a continuous 12 hrs..
What is your opinion.?
Thanks
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Robert,
Sounds more like a Delayed Reporting Time problem.
CS FTL.1.205(d) provides
(d) Unforeseen circumstances in flight operations — delayed reporting
(1) The operator may delay the reporting time in the event of unforeseen circumstances, if procedures for delayed reporting are established in the operations manual. The operator keeps records of delayed reporting. Delayed reporting procedures establish a notification time allowing a crew member to remain in his/her suitable accommodation when the delayed reporting procedure is activated. In such a case, if the crew member is informed of the delayed reporting time, the FDP is calculated as follows:
(i) one notification of a delay leads to the calculation of the maximum FDP according to (iii) or (iv);
(ii) if the reporting time is further amended, the FDP starts counting 1 hour after the second notification or at the original delayed reporting time if this is earlier;
(iii) when the delay is less than 4 hours, the maximum FDP is calculated based on the original reporting time and the FDP starts counting at the delayed reporting time;
(iv) when the delay is 4 hours or more, the maximum FDP is calculated based on the more limiting of the original or the delayed reporting time and the FDP starts counting at the delayed reporting time;
(v) as an exception to (i) and (ii), when the operator informs the crew member of a delay of 10 hours or more in reporting time and the crew member is not further disturbed by the operator, such delay of 10 hours or more counts as a rest period.
In the case you provided, paragraphs (i) & (iii) would apply. The FDP limit is based upon the original FDP start time and FDP begins at the revised report time.
The question comes up as to when the notification is provided. During a rest period, contacting the crew member (CM) is permissible, however, the CM is not obligated to “answer”, the CM may be asleep, so some common sense must be used by scheduling to understand when the CM is awake/asleep; a notification at the time a CM would be expected to begin preparing to depart the suitable accommodation (last 1:00) seems reasonable (my opinion).
/Garret
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Hello,
I have a question. My flight today was 12:10 gmt.
But yesterday they sent a notification at 15:08gmt and changed my flight to 03:00 gmt. Checkin time is 02:00 gmt.
I couldnt find anywhere how many hours before they can re-schedule my roster. According to this I had 10 hours and 52 minutes.
Is this ok?
thanks for your answer.
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You asked the following:
I have a question. My flight today was 12:10 gmt.
But yesterday they sent a notification at 15:08gmt and changed my flight to 03:00 gmt. Checkin time is 02:00 gmt.
I couldn’t find anywhere how many hours before they can re-schedule my roster. According to this I had 10 hours and 52 minutes.
Is this ok?
If I understand your situation, you were contacted by the operator while you were on an OFF DUTY PERIOD (Rest)?
And you were in the Home base environment?
At home base a crew member is supposed to have been provided a rest period of no less than 12:00.
You may have already met the conditions for the required rest period before being contacted.
While contact during a rest period is not specifically prohibited, it goes against the basic principles of basic fatigue management.Under ORO.FTL.110
(a) publish duty rosters sufficiently in advance to provide the opportunity for crew members to plan adequate rest;
Also, contact during an off duty period after a crew has fulfilled the minimum rest requirement, implies that the crew member is on Reserve. Should the operator consider that a crew member is on Reserve, then the crew member is not on rest.
This could have further implications such as meeting Recurrent Extended Recovery Rest requirements.
Further, if the company considers a crew member as on reserve in the situation described, then must meet the requirements as stated in:
ORO.FTL.230 (a) reserve shall be in the roster;
Lastly, if a crew member is on a rest period it should be understood by the operator that even if they attempt to contact the crew member, the crew member has the option to not respond.
It certainly is questionable, it could be a violation of ORO.FTL 235(a)(1), and I believe you have a good basis to question the practice with the operator.
/Garret
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Thanks for the answer. It was my off day yesterday when they send a notification.
My question was is it okay that they change my roster before 10 hours and 52 minutes? Can they change it like this or they need to give me 12 hours for changing my roster backwards?
Thanks again.
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You may have ‘lost’ your Recurrent Extended Recovery Rest as the Notification @ 15:08 would have broken up the rest period, (it needs to be continuous). 10:52 seems tight especially since attempting to plan a rest to get 8:00 sleep in the late afternoon / early evening is tough to do. ORO.FTL’s do have provisions for Delayed reporting, but none for Earlier reporting, especially with the duty now covering the entire WOCL.
Obviously, your flight went well as you’re asking questions; that will teach you for not screening your calls (kidding).
Nonetheless, I would frown upon it, but my opinion carries little weight.
Perhaps it would be good to have a ‘honest’ discussion with the airline to raise your concerns.
Good Luck
/Garret
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Thanks for the answer 🙂
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Hey,
I start on monday with my recurrent for 5 days.
So until friday noon gmt.
The next day, Saturday i go in dh at 17h20 gmt landing at 20h35 gmt.to our outstation.
Sunday I go to ewr at 14h20 gmt landing back in out station on Wednesday 12h10 gmt.
Thursday morning back to home station.
Is this possible or not?
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Hallo,
I have a contract with my company that defines my base my home country, but I need to POS in a different country in order to pick up the ac and start my duty. My rotation is 23 on and 7 off. During these 23 days, am I entitled to have off days at my home base? Or all my off can be given out of base, meaning being practically on duty? Thank you
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Hello,
During the 23 days you must be provided rest periods that comply with ORO.FTL.235.
This includes Recurrent extended recovery rest periods (RERRP).
(d) Recurrent extended recovery rest periods Flight time specification schemes shall specify recurrent extended recovery rest periods to compensate for cumulative fatigue. The minimum recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be 36 hours, including 2 local nights, and in any case the time between the end of one recurrent extended recovery rest period and the start of the next extended recovery rest period shall not be more than 168 hours. The recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be increased to 2 local days twice every month.
A RERRP may be provided while a crew member is away from base, but he span of time from the end of one RERRP to the start of the next RERRP may never exceed 168:00.
Do not confuse a RERRP with a “single day free of duty” (SDFD) as defined in ORO.FTL.105:
(23) “single day free of duty” means, for the purpose of complying with the provisions of Council Directive 2000/79/EC, a time free of all duties and standby consisting of one day and two local nights, which is notified in advance. A rest period may be included as part of the single day free of duty;
A SDFD is regulated under local/national labor laws and not technically under EASA ORO.FTL.
While it is probably best to provide a RERRP within the home environment it is not required.
Please refer to any union agreement or airline policies and local CAA interpretations for more complete guidance.
/Garret
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Thank you very much for your reply! The information are very useful!
So, what “local” night is considered in my case where I am out of base for 23 days?
I can be every where!
Thank you for your patience
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Simple,
Just follow the definition as provided in ORO.FTL.105:
(16) “local night” means a period of 8 hours falling between 22:00 and 08:00 local time;
So you would use the local time zone where the rest period is being provided to determine compliance.
/Garret
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Thank you Garet!
Have a nice day
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Hallo,
My operator is under 19seats, so Subpart Q applies to them in FDL, if I am not wrong.
I would like to ask, can I fly 22days on the row, with only rest time in between, without any off day?
Thank you
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Dear Garret,
Requirement of my company is to have:
– “at least 1 local day off in any 8 consecutive day period”
– “A minimum of 7 local days off per calendar month”
They sent us document which stated definition from Operational Manual:
” “Local Day” means a 24-hour period commencing at 00:00 local time. ”
They continued:
” For example, now because the below crew member has consecutive days off, they are free to start duty any time after their local day off ends at 0001 on the 24th instead of waiting till 0600 as previously restricted. ”
So, now, when we have 2 or more days OFF together (code OFF in AIMS) in the rosters, they keep giving us duty next day at 5am. Is that legal?
Thank you in advance for your answer!
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Technically, EASA ORO.FTL does not regulate “day’s off”.
However, a similar concept exists; Recurrent extended recovery rest periods (RERRP)
as found in ORO.FTL.235 (d) Recurrent extended recovery rest periods
Flight time specification schemes shall specify recurrent extended recovery rest periods to compensate for cumulative fatigue. The minimum recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be 36 hours, including 2 local nights, and in any case the time between the end of one recurrent extended recovery rest period and the start of the next extended recovery rest period shall not be more than 168 hours. The recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be increased to 2 local days twice every month.
Firstly, you need to understand what a local night’s rest is:
ORO.FTL 105 Definitions provides:
(16) “local night” means a period of 8 hours falling between 22:00 and 08:00 local time;
A local nights rest (LNR) may start as as early as 22:00 and may start no later than 00:00.
A LNR that starts at 22:00 will end at 06:00, while a LNR that starts at 00:00 will end at 08:00.
A rest period that commences before 22:00 may not end earlier than 06:00 to qualify as a LNR.
Likewise, a rest period that commences after 00:00 must include the period from 22:00 to 06:00 following the start of the rest period in order to qualify as a LNR.
A RERRP, is a rest period with no less than 36:00 in duration with 2 LNR’s.
A RERRP that begins at 19:00 day 1, may not end earlier than 07:00 day 3, in-order to satisfy the 36:00 rest requirement.
A RERRP that begins at 18:00 day 1, may not end earlier than 06:00 day 3, in-order to satisfy the 36:00 rest requirement.
A RERRP that begins at 17:30 day 1, may not end earlier than 06:00 day 3, in-order to satisfy the 2nd LNR requirement, so the min duration for the RERRP is 36:30.
A RERRP that begins at 17:00 day 1, may not end earlier than 06:00 day 3, in-order to satisfy the 2nd LNR requirement, so the min duration for the RERRP is 37:00.
Within a month, the RERRP must be increased to include 2 local days, twice in a month.
RERRP’s may be provided at or away from base.
Lastly, RERRP’s may not be separated by more than 168:00 from the end of one RERRP to the start of the next RERRP.
In your example, it seems AIMS is always showing 2 or more OFF’s ending at 00:00, which would comply with the regulation in ORO.FTL 235(d). However, should your system allow for single OFF days of only 24:00, that would not meet the requirements for a RERRP (36:00 and 2 LNR), but it may meet the needs for an OFF day in a month; which I suspect is a contract rule or a local rule.
I hope this helps.
Garret
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Hello,
I have a doubt.
For example:
If tomorrow I suppose to be home standby from 6.10L to 17.00L and the day before of this home standby the airline notify me a change of duty of the day after with a report time before of the original standby, (report of new duty at 5.55L) and you are sleeping or resting and so you are not able to know these changes, what can happen?
Are they allowed to call you before the original HSBY time(6.10L)?
If they call me for example at 4.00L, am I allowed to not pick up the phone and answer only at the beginning of my home standby at 6.10L?
Thank you in advance
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Luigi,
So you asked:
For example:
If tomorrow I suppose to be home standby from 6.10L to 17.00L and the day before of this home standby the airline notify me a change of duty of the day after with a report time before of the original standby, (report of new duty at 5.55L) and you are sleeping or resting and so you are not able to know these changes, what can happen?
If I understand thingS properly:
1. You were rostered for a off duty period which included the time span from 04:00L day 1 to 06:10L day 2 and then to begin a HSBY from 06:10L day 2 to 17:00L day 2.
2. You were contacted at 04:00L day 1 and told to report for a FDP at 05:55L day 2.
To answer your questions:
If they call me for example at 4.00L, am I allowed to not pick up the phone and answer only at the beginning of my home standby at 6.10L?
If you are not assigned to a duty/standby/reserve you are not obligated to respond to the contact.
Are they allowed to call you before the original HSBY time(6.10L)?
They may attempt to contact you, however you are not obligated to respond until the start of the HSBY.
Why they did not wait to contact you at a time when it would be reasonable to assume you would be awake like 10:00L
A corollary situation is if you were contacted at 04:00L day 2 and were told to report for the FDP at 05:55L day 2.
This defeats the definition of a rest period as it intended to have a defined period (a specific start and end).
Also, if the do contact you at 04:00L and you accept the FDP, they will need to have safeguards that you will not be awake more than 18:00 since 04:00L, meaning released by 22:00L (CS FTL.1.225(b)(2) refers). A FDP that starts at 05:55L must be scheduled to end by 18:40 under ORO.FTL.205(b)(1) table 2 refers and may be extended for unforEseen circumstances by 2:00, so it must be expected to end by 20:40 (ORO.FTL.205(f) refers).
/Garret
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Hello Sir,
AMC1 ORO.FTL.235(b) Rest Periods
(d) ……….. The recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be increased to 2 local days twice every month.
Will you please kindly explain this little bit clearly please? We’re having so much confusion.
Thanks in advance
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Hi Garret! Thank you very much for replying to all questions.
I have a couple of questions that I would like to make sure the airline is doing it “legally” correctly:
Let’s say I had a really long day, blocks on at 17:00Z, end of duty at 17:30Z, with a total duty time of 13h. The minimum rest then will be 17:30 + 13h rest = 06:30Z. So until 06:30Z we could not have a report. My question is: If your “old” reporting time was before 06:30Z (can’t do it) but no one has notified you during the time of blocks on + 30min (inside duty period) that you have a new report at 06:35Z for example, Question 1: are you REQUIRED to accept a notification of a new report if they notify about this change after the duty finished? I understand that you are inside the resting time, so you don’t have to accept any call or SMS notification of a duty change.
Question 2: Do you have to be ready at the reporting point once the minimum rest finishes, or you can use it to sleep until the very last minute?
Once your minimum rest finishes, suddenly you find out that you have a report in 5 minutes. Then, Question 3: how much time do you have to show up at the reporting point?
Thanks so much!
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AMC1 ORO.FTL.235(b) Rest Periods
(d) ……….. The recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be increased to 2 local days twice every month.
My company has a commuting contract, we work 3 weeks on 1 week off.
My company counts the 1 week off, 7 local days consecutive off as 2 local days rest period and 2 local days rest period and 3 local days rest period to fullfil that rule. Are they allowed to do that ?
In my opinion its just 1 rest period of 7 days and not multiple rest periods in concession
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Contrary to conventional wisdom IMHO the Recurrent Extended Recovery Rest Periods (RERRP) may be provided at or away from base.
During your 3 week work period you must be provided a RERRP of at least 36:00 hours with 2 Local Nights rest, that must commence within 168:00 since the end of the last RERRP.
Like all rest periods, they must be prospective (known in advance) and completely free of duty.
Part of the regulation is that the RERRP must be expanded to include 2 full local days twice in any calendar month.
It is possible that your 3 weeks on / 1 week off are all contained in the same calendar month, so the 1 week off would meet that requirement as days 1 and 2 satisfy the first 2 day off RERRP, and days 3 and 4 satisfy the second 2 day off RERRP.
I understand the sentiment that the RERRP should be given in the home environment, however the EASA has expeseedly stated that the RERRP may be provided away from base.
So, unless you have not been provided at least two RERRP’s during 3 weeks on, you have little to argue about.
Garret
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Dear WxMan. I wrote you a question on November 8, 2022 at 6:59 pm. Could you be so kind to reply with a clarification of my questions?
Another question has arised:
I have a planned FDP of 11:15 and that day the maximum is 12h. As soon as reporting time starts, we go to the aircraft and find out that the aircraft is AOG. Company provides with a replacement aircraft 1h:30min afterwards, so we know that day we need to enter “discretion” to finish the 4 flights. Is it legal to do those 4 flights? I am asking because you already know really well ahead that you will need to enter commander’s discretion if you want to do the flights.
I do not consider this “unforeseen”.
Thank you.
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So the ICAO definition is:
Unforeseen operational circumstance. An unplanned event, such as unforecast weather, equipment malfunction, or air traffic delay that is beyond the control of the operator.
Your OM should have a definition that is similar.
I will admit I am unfamiliar with the acronym AOG, so you may be correct it is not “unforeseen”.
I assume 2 pilots, acclimated, Report for duty between 06:00 & 13:29.
You are scheduled for 11:15 FDP, with the delay of 1:30 you are now expected to have 12:45; a 0:45 extension above the basic limit.
Since the FDP is expected to exceed 12:00 and the crew is informed after report, ORO.FTL 205(f) needs to be applied.
If the commander believes, after consultation with all the crew, that the FDP may be completed safely given all the conditions it is legal. However, since none of the flights have actually been flown, the risk for further delays may occur by the time the 4th leg is to be flown it may be prudent to reject the extension.
Garret
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I have a couple of questions that I would like to make sure the airline is doing it “legally” correctly:
Let’s say I had a really long day, blocks on at 17:00Z, end of duty at 17:30Z, with a total duty time of 13h. The minimum rest then will be 17:30 + 13h rest = 06:30Z. So until 06:30Z we could not have a report. My question is: If your “old” reporting time was before 06:30Z (can’t do it) but no one has notified you during the time of blocks on + 30min (inside duty period) that you have a new report at 06:35Z for example, Question 1: are you REQUIRED to accept a notification of a new report if they notify about this change after the duty finished? I understand that you are inside the resting time, so you don’t have to accept any call or SMS notification of a duty change.
Question 2: Do you have to be ready at the reporting point once the minimum rest finishes, or you can use it to sleep until the very last minute?
Once your minimum rest finishes, suddenly you find out that you have a report in 5 minutes. Then, Question 3: how much time do you have to show up at the reporting point?
Thanks so much!
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Hello ! I would like to ask regarding Rest Days , on 12/01 I was planned to do a duty of 14 hours with planned extension included, planned checkout time 23:30 due to delay we landed next day 13/01 that was scheduled in my roster as “Rest Day” my question it’s the following ;
Is this day considered as a DayOff ? As company have the policy of paying extra money for landing on your day off , I would like to know if for Easa a planned Rest Day is considered as one.
Thank you in advance !
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Pablo,
There seems to be some confusion.
ORO.FTL does not regulate ‘Days Off’, that is mandated under Council Directive 2000/79/EC and local laws.
Clause 9
Without prejudice to Clause 3, mobile staff in civil aviation shall be given days free of all duty and standby, which are notified in advance, as follows:
(a) at least seven local days in each calendar month, which may include any rest periods required by law; and
(b) at least 96 local days in each calendar year, which may include any rest periods required by law.
Generally speaking, a day off is usually provided at in the home environment.
ORO.FTL.235(d) Recurrent extended recovery rest periods (RERRP)
Flight time specification schemes shall specify recurrent extended recovery rest periods to compensate for cumulative fatigue. The minimum recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be 36 hours, including 2 local nights, and in any case the time between the end of one recurrent extended recovery rest period and the start of the next extended recovery rest period shall not be more than 168 hours. The recurrent extended recovery rest period shall be increased to 2 local days twice every month.
A RERRP differs slightly:
1) it may be provided outside of the home environment
2) there is no requirement as how many are required in any calendar month/year
3) there is a maximum time between the end of one RERRP and the start the next RERRP (168:00)
A RERRP must be at least 36:00 with 2 local nights rest, and a RERRP must be increased to two full calendar days twice a month
So, if on 13-Jan the rest period starting at 00:30 includes 36:00 with 2 LNR and
the end of the previous RERRP is at or after 00:30 06-Jan; it is considered a LEGAL RERRP.
With that said, may I suggest you first check the OM as the airline may have different procedures,
then check any CBA documents you may have. Finally, ask crew scheduling to help clarify the rule.
Personally, I believe it would have been better if the regulations required RERRP’s always be provided in home environment, but that is not how the regulations were written.
/Garret
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Hello !
I would like to thank you to help us to understand and sort it out ome doubts that we have with EASA regulations.
My quesiton its the following regarding REST DAY:
On 12/12 I had a duty of 13 hours with planned extension included followed by REST DAY inserted on my roster, due to delay we ended landing passed midnight (That means we landed on 13/12 on REST DAY).
Is REST DAY considered an off day under EASA regulations? If so, for operational reasons I have worked on my OFF day and the company should pay me extra compensation for this, however I can’t understand if it is considered as an OFF day or not.
Could you help me? Thank you very much in advance !
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Does a homestandby ending at 2330 local time count as a late finish?
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You asked the following:
Does a homestandby ending at 2330 local time count as a late finish?
I believe you should refer to ORO.FTL 105 Definitions:
(8) “disruptive schedule” means a crew member’s roster which disrupts the sleep opportunity during the optimal sleep time window by comprising an FDP or a combination of FDPs which encroach, start or finish during any portion of the day or of the night where a crew member is acclimatised. A schedule may be disruptive due to early starts, late finishes or night duties.
(a) “early type” of disruptive schedule means:
(i) for “early start” a duty period starting in the period between 05:00 and 05:59 in the time zone to which a crew member is acclimatised; and
(ii) for “late finish” a duty period finishing in the period between 23:00 and 01:59 in the time zone to which a crew member is acclimatised;
(b) “late type” of disruptive schedule means:
(i) for “early start” a duty period starting in the period between 05:00 and 06:59 in the time zone to which a crew member is acclimatised; and
(ii) for “late finish” a duty period finishing in the period between 00:00 and 01:59 in the time zone to which a crew member is acclimatised;
(11) “duty period” means a period which starts when a crew member is required by an operator to report for or to commence a duty and ends when that person is free of all duties, including postflight duty;
(25) “standby” means a pre-notified and defined period of time during which a crew member is required by the operator to be available to receive an assignment for a flight, positioning or other duty without an intervening rest period;
(27) “other standby” means a standby either at home or in a suitable accommodation;
Since a standby (SBY) seems to meet the criteria for “Duty Period”, if we apply the usage of “Early Type”, a “Late Finish” is for a duty period that finishes between 23:00 and 01:59; it seems reasonable to me that a SBY that finishes at 23:30 can be considered a Late Finish.
The approved OM should contain provisions concerning “disruptive schedules.
CS FTL.1.235 Rest Periods
(a) Disruptive schedules
(1) If a transition from a late finish/night duty to an early start is planned at home base, the rest period between the 2 FDPs includes 1 local night.
(2) If a crew member performs 4 or more night duties, early starts or late finishes between 2 extended recovery rest periods as defined in ORO.FTL.235(d), the second extended recovery rest period is extended to 60 hours.
No knowing all the facts concerning the roster surrounding the SBY makes it difficult to determine whether a roster is legal or not.
/Garret
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Hi
When does 1.235 (b) (3)(ii) apply? “Away from home base, if an FDP involves a 4-hour time difference or more, the minimum rest following that FDP is at least as long as the preceding duty period, or 14 hours, whichever is greater. “
Let say your homebase is Berlin.
You position on day 1 to London, day 2 you operate London/Cancun (more than 4 hours time difference). Day 3 you operate back to London. When can you at the earliest position back to Berlin from London and in theory when can you at the earliest position back to Berlin from Cancun based on the above rule?
Regards
TUI
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