Flight Attendants Allowed 10 Straight Hours Off Between Shifts
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday that flight attendants can receive at least 10 consecutive hours off between shifts.
The new rule will add one hour to what is currently required and will go into effect in 30 days. The airlines will have 90 days to comply with the new rule.
"Flight attendants, like all essential transportation workers, work hard every day to keep the traveling public safe, and we owe them our full support," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press release.
"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," Buttigieg added.
Billy Nolen, the acting FAA administrator, announced the the new rule at an event at Reagan National Airport.
"I can tell you firsthand that well-rested crew members are important to safety," Nolen said. "And as we've seen too often recently, they are on the front lines of responding to unruly passengers who could threaten the safety of the flight and other passengers."
The Association of Flight Attendants had long sought to have longer breaks between shifts. Past rules had flight attendants work 14 hours in a day with nine hours of a break.
Officials with the union highlighted that more rest is needed amid a drastic increase in unruly passengers. Videos have surfaced since 2020 of passengers assaulting or verbally abusing flight attendants.
"This is a small handful of people making it hell for flight attendants on the front lines," Sara Nelson, the union's president, said at a news conference.
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