Summary
- The Rest rules for air traffic controllers will not change in July.
- The FAA made the decision to pause the changes due to staffing shortages.
- The currently circulating FAA Reauthorization Bill has attempted to address ATC staffing issues.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will not implement amendments to the rest rules requirements for air traffic controllers (ATC) before July 2024, a change of policy since April, when the regulator said that it would mandate a certain amount of rest before shifts.
Rest period changes
According to an FAA statement sent to Simple Flying, the FAA is working with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) on ways how to implement the rest period changes in the near future. In the meantime, the regulator said that it will ensure that the current rest requirements are adhered to while also continuing to hire and train more controllers to ensure the safety of the National Airspace System (NAS).
“The FAA’s top priority is the safety of the flying public, and part of that work is making sure the nation has a well-staffed and well-rested air traffic controller workforce. The science is clear that fatigue can impair the ability to perform safety-related operational duties, and Administrator Mike Whitaker is taking action to ensure controllers are getting enough rest based on the findings of an independent panel of scientific fatigue experts.”
Photo: EQRoy | Shutterstock
Mike Whitaker, the Administrator of the FAA, announced the changes on April 19. Whitaker’s statement read that the regulator commissioned an independent panel in December 2023, which brought into focus key reforms to ensure ATCs get enough rest while implementing long-term changes to the NAS. As an immediate step, Whitaker said that the FAA would require ten hours off between shifts and 12 hours before a midnight shift, making the rule effective in 90 days. The change was consistent with the panel’s recommendations.
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Staffing shortages
However, as reported by Reuters, staffing shortages derailed these plans. Current rest rules read that except in an emergency, an ATC has to be relieved of all duties for at least 24 consecutive hours once every seven days. The controller may not work for more than ten consecutive hours or for more than ten hours in a day unless they had a rest period of at least eight hours before the end of the ten hours of duty time.
Photo: American Airlines
Meanwhile, The Air Current reported that ATCs were informed by a memo from Timothy Arel, the chief operating officer (COO) of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO). The COO sent the memo on May 3, informing that changes to the rest rules could be coming in 2025.
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ATC provisions in the latest FAA Reauthorization Bill
The FAA Reauthorization Bill, which is still stuck in the US Senate, includes a section that addresses ATC workforce staffing, with Section 437 saying that subject to the availability of appropriations, the FAA should set a minimum hiring target between 2024 and 2028.
Photo: Gorodenkoff I Shutterstock
Not later than 30 days after the bill goes into effect, the FAA shall enter into an agreement with the National Academies Transportation Research Board (TRB) to determine the certified professional controller (CPC) staffing targets to meet operational, statutory, contractual, and safety requirements. The CPC models will have to be compared with the FAA’s Controlling Staffing Standard issued in 2023 to the Collaborative Resource Workgroup of the FAA (CRWG).
The TRB will have 180 days following the signing of the agreement to provide its report to the FAA and appropriate Congress committees, while the regulator will be obliged to implement and use the staffing model identified by the board not later than one year after the approval of the reauthorization bill.
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