Flight Attendant Duty Period Limitations and Rest Requirements
| Published date | 02 November 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 60424 |
| Record Number | 2021-23253 |
| Section | Proposed rules |
| Court | Federal Aviation Administration |
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 209 / Tuesday, November 2, 2021 / Proposed Rules
in the
ADDRESSES
section of this
document. FAA Order JO 7400.11F lists
Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas,
air traffic service routes, and reporting
points.
The Proposal
The FAA is proposing an amendment
to 14 CFR part 71 by amending the Class
E airspace extending upward from 700
feet above the surface of the earth at Kit
Carson County Airport, Burlington, CO.
The proposed Class E airspace
extending upward from 700 feet above
ground level (AGL) would be amended
to within a 6.5-mile radius of the airport
with a 7.0-mile radius bump out from
the 207° bearing from the airport
clockwise to the 268° bearing from the
airport, and extensions south,
northwest, and north of the airport
should be established to contain IFR
departures to 1,200 feet above the
surface and IFR arrivals descending
below 1,500 feet above the surface. The
southern extension would be within 2.6
miles on each side of the 160° bearing
from the airport, extending from the 6.5-
mile radius to 8.5 miles south of the
airport. The northwest extension would
be within 2.6 miles on each side of the
326° bearing from the airport, extending
from the 6.5-mile radius to 7.5 miles
northwest of the airport. Finally, the
northern extension would be within 1.0
miles on each side of the 340° bearing
from the airport, extending from the 6.5-
mile radius to 10.8 miles north of the
airport.
This action also proposes two
administrative updates to the Class E
legal description. The second line of the
text header should be updated from
‘‘Burlington, Kit Carson County Airport,
CO’’ to ‘‘Kit Carson County Airport’’, to
match the FAA database. Additionally,
the third line of the text header should
be updated from ‘‘(Lat. 39°14′41″ N,
long. 102°17′05″ W) to ‘‘(Lat. 39°14′33″
N, long. 102°17′07″ W)’’ to match the
FAA database.
Class E airspace designations are
published in paragraph 6005 of FAA
Order JO 7400.11F, dated August 10,
2021, and effective September 15, 2021,
which is incorporated by reference in 14
CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace
designations listed in this document
will be published subsequently in FAA
Order JO 7400.11.
FAA Order JO 7400.11, Airspace
Designations and Reporting Points, is
published yearly and effective on
September 15.
Regulatory Notices and Analyses
The FAA has determined that this
regulation only involves an established
body of technical regulations for which
frequent and routine amendments are
necessary to keep them operationally
current, is non-controversial and
unlikely to result in adverse or negative
comments. It, therefore: (1) Is not a
‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under
Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a
‘‘significant rule’’ under DOT
Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44
FR 11034; February 26, 1979); and (3)
does not warrant preparation of a
regulatory evaluation as the anticipated
impact is so minimal. Since this is a
routine matter that will only affect air
traffic procedures and air navigation, it
is certified that this rule, when
promulgated, would not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
under the criteria of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act.
Environmental Review
This proposal will be subject to an
environmental analysis in accordance
with FAA Order 1050.1F,
‘‘Environmental Impacts: Policies and
Procedures’’ prior to any FAA final
regulatory action.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71
Airspace, Incorporation by reference,
Navigation (air).
The Proposed Amendment
Accordingly, pursuant to the
authority delegated to me, the Federal
Aviation Administration proposes to
amend 14 CFR part 71 as follows:
PART 71—DESIGNATION OF CLASS A,
B, C, D, AND E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIR
TRAFFIC SERVICE ROUTES; AND
REPORTING POINTS
■1. The authority citation for 14 CFR
part 71 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40103,
40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR,
1959–1963 Comp., p. 389.
§ 71.1 [Amended]
■2. The incorporation by reference in
14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order JO 7400.11F,
Airspace Designations and Reporting
Points, dated July 21, 2020, and
effective September 15, 2020, is
amended as follows:
Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Areas
Extending Upward From 700 Feet or More
Above the Surface of the Earth.
* * * * *
ANM CO E5 Burlington, CO [Amended]
Kit Carson County Airport, CO
(Lat. 39°14′33″ N, long. 102°17′07″ W)
That airspace extending upward from 700
feet above the surface within 6.5-mile radius
of the Kit Carson County Airport, and within
a 7.0-mile radius of the airport from the 207°
bearing from the airport clockwise to the 283°
bearing from the airport, and within 2.6 miles
on each side of the 160° bearing from the
airport, extending from the 6.5-mile radius to
8.5 miles south of the airport, and within 2.6
miles on each side of the 326° bearing from
the airport, extending from the 6.5-mile
radius to 7.5 miles northwest of the airport,
and within 1.0 mile on each side of the 340°
bearing from the airport, extending from the
6.5-mile radius to 10.8 miles north of the
airport.
Issued in Des Moines, Washington, on
October 27, 2021.
B.G. Chew,
Acting Group Manager, Operations Support
Group, Western Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2021–23808 Filed 11–1–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 121
[Docket No.: FAA–2019–0770; Notice No.
22–01]
RIN 2120–AL41
Flight Attendant Duty Period
Limitations and Rest Requirements
AGENCY
: Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION
: Notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM).
SUMMARY
: This action arises out of a
statutory mandate in the FAA
Reauthorization Act of 2018, which
requires rulemaking to increase the
minimum rest period for flight
attendants in domestic, flag, and
supplemental operations who are
scheduled for a duty period of 14 hours
or less. The statute also requires
rulemaking to prohibit a reduction of
the rest period under any
circumstances. Consistent with the
statutory mandate, the FAA proposes to
amend its regulations to ensure that
flight attendants scheduled to a duty
period of 14 hours or less are given a
scheduled rest period of at least 10
consecutive hours and that the rest
period is not reduced under any
circumstances.
DATES
: Send comments on or before
January 3, 2022.
ADDRESSES
: Send comments identified
by docket number FAA–2019–0770
using any of the following methods:
•Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
http://www.regulations.gov and follow
the online instructions for sending your
comments electronically.
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1
A ‘‘flightcrew member’’ is a pilot, flight
engineer, or flight navigator assigned to duty in an
aircraft during flight time. 14 CFR 1.1.
2
14 CFR 121.467(a).
3
14 CFR 121.391 provides that a certificate
holder may, however, use more than the required
number of flight attendants.
4
14 CFR 121.392.
5
Under 14 CFR 121.421, ‘‘programmed hours’’
refers to hours of training or instruction in specific
subjects, in a flight attendant training program.
•Mail: Send comments to Docket
Operations, M–30; U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Room W12–140, West
Building, Ground Floor, Washington,
DC 20590–0001.
•Hand Delivery or Courier: Take
comments to Docket Operations in
Room W12–140 of the West Building
Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
•Fax: Fax comments to Docket
Operations at 202–493–2251.
Privacy: In accordance with 5 U.S.C.
553(c), DOT solicits comments from the
public to better inform its rulemaking
process. DOT posts these comments,
without edit, including any personal
information the commenter provides, to
www.regulations.gov, as described in
the system of records notice (DOT/ALL–
14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
www.dot.gov/privacy.
Docket: Background documents or
comments received may be read at
http://www.regulations.gov at any time.
Follow the online instructions for
accessing the docket or go to the Docket
Operations in Room W12–140 of the
West Building, Ground Floor at 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington,
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Daniel T. Ronneberg, Part 121 Air
Carrier Operations, Air Transportation
Division, AFS–220, Federal Aviation
Administration, 800 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591;
telephone (202) 267–1216; email
Dan.Ronneberg@faa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
I. Executive Summary
This proposed rule addresses the
requirement of section 335(a) of the
FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (the
FAARA 2018), codified at 49 U.S.C.
44701 note. Section 335(a) requires the
FAA to conduct rulemaking to increase
to 10 hours the minimum rest period for
flight attendants in domestic, flag, and
supplemental operations who are
scheduled for a duty period of 14 hours
or less; and to prohibit the reduction of
the rest period under any
circumstances. The FAA’s existing
regulations require only a 9-hour rest
period for these flight attendants which
can be reduced to 8 hours in certain
circumstances. Consistent with the
requirement of section 335(a) of the
FAARA 2018, the FAA proposes to
amend § 121.467(b)(2) and (b)(3) to
require 10 hours of consecutive rest,
remove the existing allowance for a
reduction in rest time, and prohibit the
reduction of the 10 hours of consecutive
rest time under any circumstances.
II. Authority for This Rulemaking
The FAA’s authority to issue rules on
aviation safety is found in Title 49 of the
United States Code (U.S.C.). Subtitle I,
Section 106 describes the authority of
the FAA Administrator. Section 106(f)
vests final authority in the
Administrator for carrying out all
functions, powers, and duties of the
administration relating to the
promulgation of regulations and rules.
Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs,
describes in more detail the scope of the
Agency’s authority. Section 44701(a)(4)
requires the Administrator to
promulgate regulations in the interest of
safety for the ‘‘maximum hours or
periods of service of airmen and other
employees of air carriers.’’ Section
44701(a)(5) requires the Administrator
to promulgate ‘‘regulations and
minimum standards for other practices,
methods, and procedure that the
Administrator finds necessary for safety
in air commerce and national security.’’
In addition, 49 U.S.C. 44701(d)(1)(A)
specifically states that the
Administrator, when prescribing safety
regulations, must consider the duty of
an air carrier to provide service with the
highest possible degree of safety in the
public interest. Such authority applies
to the oversight the FAA exercises to
ensure safety of air carrier operations,
including crewmember flight, duty, and
rest requirements.
Further, section 335(a) of the FAARA
2018 (Pub. L. 115–254, 132 Stat. 3186
(Oct. 5, 2018)), codified at 49 U.S.C.
44701 note, requires the FAA to amend
the flight attendant duty period
limitations and rest regulation to
increase the minimum rest period for
flight attendants in domestic, flag, and
supplemental operations who are
scheduled for a duty period of 14 hours
or less. Section 335(a) also prohibits
reduction of the rest period under any
circumstances.
III. Background
Flight Attendant Requirements
The FAA defines a flight attendant
serving in operations conducted under
14 § part 121 as an individual, other
than a flightcrew member,
1
who is
assigned by a certificate holder
conducting domestic, flag, or
supplemental operations to duty in an
aircraft during flight time and whose
duties include activities related to
ensuring cabin safety.
2
Section 121.391
specifies the minimum number of flight
attendants required on board a flight,
based on maximum payload capacity
and seating capacity, for certificate
holders conducting passenger-carrying
operations under part 121.
3
Any person serving as a flight
attendant in part 121 operations must
complete the training and qualification
requirements of part 121 subparts N and
O.
4
These training and qualification
requirements include specific
programmed hours,
5
as well as airplane
type specific knowledge and skill
requirements.
Flight attendants are responsible for
taking action during emergencies,
including administering first aid,
conducting aircraft evacuations,
responding to inflight fires, managing
medical emergencies, and handling
passengers who threaten the safety of
other passengers or might be unruly or
disruptive. They must also be prepared
to respond to situations that could
threaten the safety of the passengers and
the flight, including turbulent air,
airplane decompression, and hijackings.
They must know the location of
emergency exits, fire extinguishers, first
aid kits, flotation devices, oxygen
masks, and emergency slides, and check
emergency equipment before flight.
They must assess and verify the
suitability of passengers that occupy
exit seating, brief passengers on safety
equipment, evacuation, and crash
landing procedures, and ensure
compliance with applicable safety
regulations.
Advance Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (ANPRM) and Discussion of
Public Comments
On September 25, 2019, the FAA
published an ANPRM, Flight Attendant
Duty Period Limitations and Rest
Requirements (84 FR 50349). The FAA
determined that soliciting public input
on the regulatory impact of the changes
to flight attendant duty and rest
requirements codified in Section 335(a)
of the FAARA 2018 was appropriate.
The FAA also intended for the ANPRM
to provide additional avenues for public
participation and to inform the FAA’s
analysis and rulemaking development.
The FAA received 216 comments on
the ANPRM. Commenters included
many individuals, Airlines for America
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(A4A), Endeavor Air, Air Line Pilots
Association (ALPA), Transportation
Trades Department (TTD), Transport
Workers Union of America (TWU),
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
(AASM), Association of Flight
Attendants (AFA), International
Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT),
International Association of Machinists
and Aerospace Workers (IAM), and
Association of Professional Flight
Attendants (AFPA).
The commenters raised three
principal issues: Increased rest period,
costs, and implementation. A4A and
Endeavor Air provided information
indicating the increased rest period
would increase costs to certificate
holders. ALPA, TTD, TWU, AASM,
AFA, IBT, IAM, APFA, and many
individuals supported the increased rest
period, emphasizing the roles and
responsibilities of flight attendants with
regard to aviation safety, commenting
that flight attendants’ performance of
their duties is fatigue-inducing and that
they would benefit from increased rest.
These commenters also stated that the
increased rest would not always result
in increased costs.
Rest Period
Many commenters supported
increasing the rest period to at least 10
consecutive hours. AASM stated that
providing flight attendants with a 10-
hour minimum rest period should
increase their sleep duration and
subsequent on-the-job alertness and
performance. Some commenters went
further to request that the FAA require
flight attendants to receive more rest
hours, such as a period of 12 hours.
Other commenters recommended that
for every hour of duty, the FAA should
require certificate holders to provide a
flight attendant one hour or one and a
half hours of rest. In addition, some
commenters recommended that the rest
period should only begin at hotel check-
in, to maximize rest.
Some commenters asked the FAA to
consider research on flight attendant
fatigue and to look generally at its flight,
duty, and rest scheme for flight
attendants. AASM stated that further
research is required to determine
whether the minimum rest period
should be modified for duty periods that
encroach on the biological night.
Additionally, one individual
recommended the FAA review existing
research on flight attendant fatigue from
the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
(CAMI) and suggested that the FAA
align flight attendant flight, duty, and
rest requirements with flightcrew
members’ rest schemes.
A4A and Endeavor Air provided
information indicating the increased
rest period would increase costs to
certificate holders. A4A commented that
flight attendant rest requirements are
necessary and that they strongly support
scientifically validated and data-driven
countermeasures to prevent fatigue.
A4A stated, however, that regulations
should be limited to implementing only
what is required by the statute and
stated the FAA should incorporate cost
mitigation measures. A4A also
mentioned that the FAA could achieve
the safety benefits of this regulation
effectively and more efficiently through
a risk-based rule in lieu of prescriptive
hours-based requirements.
The FAA’s action to propose this
rulemaking complies with the
requirements of section 335(a) of the
FAARA 2018. Accordingly, the FAA has
scoped this rulemaking to address the
discrete, specific statutory mandate in
section 335(a) and does not propose
further amendments to flight attendant
flight, duty, and rest schemes, as some
commenters suggested. In addition, the
FAA lacks data and supporting research
or studies that would support a further
increase in the rest period.
The rest requirement provided in this
rulemaking is a minimum rest
requirement. The FAA notes that, while
not part of this rulemaking, section
335(b) of the FAARA 2018 mandates
certificate holders conducting
operations under part 121 to submit to
the FAA flight attendant fatigue risk
management plans (FRMP), which
encompass a risk-based approach to
flight attendant rest consistent with the
FAA regulations on rest requirements
for flight attendants. Certificate holders
have the option to amend their FRMPs
to provide flight attendants with more
rest than the FAA requires, and nothing
in this NPRM would preclude a
certificate holder from increasing the
rest period.
Cost
A4A stated that implementing this
proposal would reduce schedule
flexibility, result in a potential loss of
income for flight attendants, and
increase cost to certificate holders due
to new hire turnover costs, training
costs, scheduling software costs, and
travel costs. A4A estimated that it
would cost $786 million over 10 years
for the 66 percent of flight attendants
who are employed by certificate holders
that are members of A4A’s organization,
and estimated $1 billion over 10 years
for all certificate holders. A4A noted
that the increased rest period may result
in flight attendants having ‘‘unpaid idle
time’’ away from their home base,
resulting in a reduction in the average
pay credit per calendar day spent at
work. A4A also stated that certificate
holders will need to plan for 11 hours
of rest instead of 10 hours, in order to
ensure an appropriate buffer for delays,
and that eliminating certificate holders’
ability to reduce rest during day-of
operations will drive extensive
additional costs and harm flight
attendants, who might otherwise choose
to stay on duty longer. A4A stated that
flight attendants may need to change the
way they bid for schedules and may
have to choose between flying longer at
night or flying more days during the
month to get the same hours they are
getting now. A4A also stated that less
senior flight attendants are likely to be
exposed to trips that are most impacted
by the implementation of section 335(a)
and less desirable schedules, and that
flight attendants will have fewer days
off per month because they will have to
increase the number of trips they fly
each month to maintain the same
number of flight hours and standard of
living they had prior to implementing
section 335(a).
A4A further commented that, if a
certificate holder does not increase its
flight attendant scheduling construction
and aircraft route scheduling buffer, it
will simply have to manage the
consequences and costs of delays that
arise out of irregular operations and
maintenance. In these circumstances,
A4A suggested certificate holders will
have to remove the flight attendants that
are about to ‘‘time out’’ because they
have not received the scheduled rest
required by section 335(a) and must
assign other flight attendants (if any are
available, which might not be the case
at many smaller airports) to finish the
trip while paying both the timed out
and active flight attendant. In the
alternative, A4A mentioned certificate
holders might push back the departure
time of the next flight to which these
flight attendants are assigned in order to
preserve the scheduled rest periods,
creating a cascading chain of delays.
Endeavor Airlines provided a chart
indicating that compliance with the
increased rest period would result in
initial costs of $205,000 and recurring
costs of $203,800, based on their
estimates for 2020, 2021, and 2022. It
stated that because planned rest must
increase, less daily activity would be
scheduled, driving fewer days off. It also
indicated that the increased rest would
drive increased costs for software, new
hires, and training.
AFA and IBT stated that multiple
airlines have already included the
additional rest that would result from
the rule change required by section
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Section 335(a)(1) requires modification of ‘‘the
final rule of the Federal Aviation Administration
published in the Federal Register on August 19,
1994 (59 FR 42974; relating to flight attendant duty
period limitations and rest requirements) in
accordance with the requirements of this
subsection.’’ The citation to the Federal Register
publication refers to the final rule implementing the
flight attendant duty period limitations and rest
requirements of §121.467.
335(a) in their contracts. AFA and IBT
further state that these airlines have
implemented the additional rest quickly
and without incurring additional costs,
and that the argument that the increased
rest is too costly and difficult to
implement is without merit. APFA,
IAM, and TWU stated that it is unlikely
that certificate holders would undertake
any significant costs in implementing a
change to a 10-hour minimum rest
period for flight attendants. These
commenters stated while some airlines
claim possible additional costs, the vast
majority of flight attendants are
guaranteed approximately 10 hours of
rest today under their existing terms of
work. They also mentioned that costs of
compliance would be minimal, as major
certificate holders making up over 90
percent of total available seat miles of
certificate holders affected by the
proposed rule already schedule their
crews with at least 10 hours of rest
between shifts. TTD stated that current
scheduling, operations, and training
practices, combined with the fact that a
number of certificate holders currently
operate with 10-hour rest periods,
means that costs incurred by certificate
holders are likely to be tempered. TTD
expressed skepticism that the
rulemaking would qualify as an
economically significant rule.
The FAA carefully analyzed the
varied comments received on the
economic impact of the required
rulemaking. In the course of analyzing
these comments to the ANPRM, the
FAA determined it needed additional,
individualized data. As a result, after
the ANPRM comment period closed, the
FAA conducted additional outreach as
discussed later in this preamble.
Implementation
Many commenters expressed concern
that the FAA is past due on rulemaking
and implementation of the section
335(a) mandate. APFA, IAM, and TWU
stated that delay in implementation is
inconsistent with Congressional
requirements and that flight attendants
deserved more rest, noting the
physically demanding aspects of flight
attendant duties. TTD endorsed the
comments filed by APFA, IAM, and
TWU and called on the FAA to proceed
immediately with an interim final rule
to implement the flight attendant duty
period and rest requirements mandated
by the FAARA 2018, stating that the
FAA must not create artificial
impediments to the promulgation of this
urgently needed regulatory change. TTD
stated that even if the FAA determines
that the proposed rule is economically
significant, that determination should
have no impact on expeditiously
publishing a final rule. TTD further
stated that by taking aggressive action to
apply these fatigue protections, the FAA
can swiftly improve the safety and
security of the aviation system. ALPA
indicated that it understood that the
majority of U.S. flight attendants either
currently receive 10 hours of rest or
would receive such rest by the time the
FAA issues a final rule, and that delay
in implementing the rest requirement is
not acceptable in view of aviation safety
and security.
AFA and other commenters stated
they assumed the FAA would allow a
six-month implementation period. AFA
noted that after the FAA published the
ANPRM (September 2019), Delta
Airlines announced its plans to
implement the new rest period in
February 2020. AFA asserted that
Delta’s actions show that certificate
holders can implement the new
provisions in a few months’ time. A4A,
however, recommended the FAA
propose and adopt an implementation
period of at least 12 months to reduce
costs.
Section 335(a) required the FAA, in a
narrow timeframe, to modify an existing
final rule to require that flight
attendants receive increased rest. The
FAA is implementing this rulemaking
requirement consistent with the
Administrative Procedure Act and DOT
Order 2100.6A, Rulemaking and
Guidance Procedures. Regarding
comments addressing the compliance
period, an extended implementation
period would be inconsistent with the
intent of this statutory mandate.
Moreover, the FAA expects that a delay
in the compliance period would only
delay the realization of both benefits
and costs. Additionally, a delay in the
compliance period of less than a full
year would be imperceptible in the
monetized cost estimates.
Additional Outreach
The FAA received only limited
quantitative information from certificate
holders estimating costs in response to
the questions contained in the ANPRM.
A4A provided aggregated data, but the
FAA needed individualized data to
complete its regulatory impact analysis
of the regulatory change required by
section 335(a). Therefore, after the
comment period for the ANPRM closed,
the FAA conducted additional outreach
to nine air carrier certificate holders that
would be subject to the amended
requirements. The FAA’s outreach
focused on the current amount of rest
the certificate holder provided flight
attendants; the impacts from
implementing the statutorily mandated
rest; and barriers to implementing the
statutorily mandated rest. The FAA was
able to gather sufficient data to assess
the anticipated impacts of requiring the
increased rest. Due to the proprietary
and confidential nature of the
information collected from certificate
holders, the FAA has published this
information as aggregated summary
results. This NPRM and the regulatory
evaluation for this proposed rule,
however, summarize the
correspondence with certificate holders
and the information the FAA received
from certificate holders to the extent
necessary to inform the public of the
bases for its proposed determinations in
the regulatory evaluation.
IV. Discussion of the Proposal
Currently, certificate holders
conducting domestic, flag, and
supplemental operations must fulfill the
flight attendant duty period limitations
and rest requirements in 14 CFR
121.467. Paragraph (b) of § 121.467
provides that a flight attendant
scheduled to a duty period of 14 hours
or less must be given a scheduled rest
period of at least nine consecutive
hours. This rest period must occur
between the completion of the
scheduled duty period and the
commencement of the subsequent duty
period. The certificate holder may
schedule or reduce the rest period to
eight consecutive hours if the certificate
holder provides a subsequent rest
period of at least 10 consecutive hours
that is scheduled to begin no later than
24 hours after the beginning of the
reduced rest period.
Section 335(a) of the FAARA 2018
requires ‘‘[modification of] the final
rule’’
6
relating to flight attendant duty
period limitations and rest requirements
to ‘‘ensure that—(A) a flight attendant
scheduled to a duty period of 14 hours
or less is given a scheduled rest period
of at least 10 consecutive hours; and (B)
the rest period is not reduced under any
circumstances.’’ Consistent with the
requirement of section 335(a) of the
FAARA 2018, the proposed rule would
amend § 121.467(b)(2) and (b)(3) to
require certificate holders operating
under part 121 to provide 10 hours of
consecutive rest for flight attendants
scheduled to a duty period of 14 hours
or less, remove the allowance for a
reduction in rest, and explicitly prohibit
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SPAS categories are as follows: Majors: Fleet
does not contain any ‘‘Cargo Only’’ configured
aircraft; and greater than 25 percent of fleet are
aircraft configured with maximum passenger
capacity greater than or equal to 100 seats, and fleet
size is greater than or equal to 400. Nationals: Fleet
does not contain any ‘‘Cargo Only’’ configured
aircraft, and greater than 25 percent of fleet are
aircraft configured with maximum passenger
capacity greater than or equal to 100 seats, and fleet
size is less than 400. Regionals: Fleet does not
contain any ‘‘Cargo Only’’ configured aircraft, and
greater than or equal to 75 percent of fleet are
aircraft configured with maximum passenger
capacity less than 100 seats. Passenger and Cargo
Only: Fleet includes ‘‘Passenger configured’’ aircraft
and ‘‘Cargo Only’’ configured aircraft.
8
Bureau of Transportation Statistics T–100
Segment (flights) and Market (passengers) data.
Available online at www.BTS.gov.
a reduction in the 10 hours of rest. For
the reasons described in the FAA’s
response to ANPRM comments on
implementation, certificate holders
would be required to comply with the
proposed rule upon the effective date,
30 days after publication of the final
rule in the Federal Register.
V. Regulatory Notices and Analyses
Federal agencies consider impacts of
regulatory actions under a variety of
executive orders and other
requirements. First, Executive Order
12866 and Executive Order 13563 direct
that each Federal agency shall propose
or adopt a regulation only upon a
reasoned determination that the benefits
of the intended regulation justify the
costs. Second, the Regulatory Flexibility
Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96–354) requires
agencies to analyze the economic
impact of regulatory changes on small
entities. Third, the Trade Agreements
Act (Pub. L. 96–39) prohibits agencies
from setting standards that create
unnecessary obstacles to the foreign
commerce of the United States. Fourth,
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of
1995 (Pub. L. 104–4) requires agencies
to prepare a written assessment of the
costs, benefits, and other effects of
proposed or final rules that include a
Federal mandate that may result in the
expenditure by State, local, and tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or by the
private sector, of $100,000,000 or more
(adjusted annually for inflation) in any
one year. The current threshold after
adjustment for inflation is $158,000,000,
using the most current (2020) Implicit
Price Deflator for the Gross Domestic
Product. The FAA has provided a
detailed Regulatory Impact Analysis
(RIA) in the docket for this rulemaking.
This portion of the preamble
summarizes the FAA’s analysis of the
economic impacts of this proposed rule.
In conducting these analyses, the FAA
has determined that this proposed rule:
Is a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ as
defined in section 3(f) of Executive
Order 12866; may have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities; will not create
unnecessary obstacles to the foreign
commerce of the United States; and will
not impose an unfunded mandate on
State, local, or tribal governments, or on
the private sector.
A. Regulatory Impact Analysis
This section provides a summary of
the FAA’s Regulatory Impact Analysis
(RIA). Please see the RIA available in
the docket for the rulemaking for more
details.
Baseline for the Analysis
The baseline for analysis of the
incremental benefits and costs of the
proposed rule includes the regulations
regarding flight attendant rest and
existing practices, the affected entities
and flight attendants, and potential
safety and health risks. Again, note that
the baseline presented in this document
predates the coronavirus (COVID–19)
public health emergency. It is possible
that when the rulemaking becomes
final, the actual conditions for
certificate holders may differ from the
information collected prior to the public
health emergency.
Currently, certificate holders
conducting domestic, flag, or
supplemental operations under 14 CFR
part 121 must provide a flight attendant
scheduled to a duty period of 14 hours
or less a scheduled rest period of at least
9 consecutive hours. The certificate
holder may schedule or reduce the rest
period to eight consecutive hours if the
certificate holder provides a subsequent
rest period of at least 10 consecutive
hours that is scheduled to begin no later
than 24 hours after the beginning of the
reduced rest period. In response to the
FAARA 2018 and other circumstances
(including that some airlines schedule
flight attendants to be synchronized
with those for pilots), 12 certificate
holders already schedule flight
attendants for 10 hours of rest. The
provision may be reflected in a
certificate holder’s collective bargaining
agreement with the flight attendant
union.
The FAA’s Safety Performance
Analysis System (SPAS) contains
information on certificate holders
conducting operations under part 121
and the number of flight attendants.
Table 1 provides a summary by category
of carrier.
7
T
ABLE
1—U
NIVERSE OF
A
FFECTED
E
NTITIES AND
F
LIGHT
A
TTENDANTS
Category Number of
certificate
holders
Total number
of flight
attendants
Average
number of
flight
attendants per
certificate
holder
Major ............................................................................................................................................ 4 91,420 22,855
National ........................................................................................................................................ 13 21,805 1,677
Passenger and Cargo .................................................................................................................. 5 703 141
Regional ....................................................................................................................................... 21 14,196 676
Total ...................................................................................................................................... 43 128,124 2,980
NVIS = National Vital Information System.
SPAS = Safety Performance Analysis System.
Source: FAA Safety Performance Analysis System (SPAS), SPAS NVIS Air Operator—12/05/2019.
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
data indicate that flight attendants serve
hundreds of millions of passengers on
close to 10 million flights annually in
the United States.
8
Flight attendants
perform safety and security functions
while on duty in addition to serving
customers. Voluntary reports submitted
by flight attendants to the Aviation
Safety Reporting System indicate the
potential for fatigue to be associated
with poor performance of safety and
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9
See Aviation Safety Reporting System Database
Online (https://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/search/
database.html) report 1452656 from May 2017.
10
Refers to crash-landing into water an aircraft
not designed for the purpose.
11
The OMB’s 2003 guidance on regulatory
analysis, Circular A–4, is available online at:
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/
circulars_a004_a-4/.
12
OMB Circular A–4 requires agencies to use a
pre-statutory baseline for regulatory analysis of
statutory requirements (pp. 15 and 16): ‘‘In some
cases, substantial portions of a rule may simply
restate statutory requirements that would be self-
implementing, even in the absence of the regulatory
action. In these cases, you [the agency] should use
a pre-statute baseline.’’
security related tasks. For example, in
2017, a flight attendant reported almost
causing the gate agent to deploy a slide,
which he/she attributed to, among other
causes, having been fatigued.
9
Additional examples of voluntary
reports regarding flight attendant fatigue
are included in the RIA. Other reports
included poor response to a passenger
incident and feeling pressure to work
despite being fatigued.
Benefits
The benefits of the proposed
regulation would include reductions in
safety risks, and any improvements in
flight attendant health, that may be
associated with the increase in flight
attendant minimum rest periods. Flight
attendants must be prepared to respond
quickly to emergencies including
evacuations, crash impacts, post-crash
or inflight fires, ditching,
10
runway over
runs, security events, and similar
situations. Commenters on the ANPRM
note that the scientific bases for fatigue
impacts on task performance are well
understood, although the specific
impact to flight attendant task
performance has not been well-studied.
Benefits of increasing the minimum
flight attendant rest period may accrue
through reduced safety risks. However,
as discussed in additional detail in the
RIA, any reductions in safety risk are
likely to be small since they would also
depend on the frequency which safety-
oriented tasks occur, and currently U.S.
air carriers experience very few
accidents resulting in death or serious
injury. Additionally, given the potential
impact of fatigue on health, the
proposed rule could also result in health
benefits for flight attendants.
The FAA does not have sufficient data
to estimate a baseline level of safety risk
associated with flight attendant fatigue.
In addition, it is also difficult to
estimate (and the FAA does not have
data on) the impact of the proposed rule
in reducing flight attendant fatigue-
related performance errors (i.e., how
outcomes will differ compared to under
the current rest period). Similarly,
because multiple factors affect flight
attendant health, it is difficult to
identify health risks specifically
attributable to rest period-related fatigue
and the impact of the proposed rest
requirement in reducing that risk.
Costs
The FAA used data that it collects
from certificate holders conducting
operations under part 121 and
information submitted in response to
the ANPRM, as supplemented or
verified through additional outreach, to
estimate the costs that may be
associated with the proposed rule. To
better understand the ANPRM
responses, the FAA conducted
additional outreach to three major, three
national, and three regional certificate
holders in January and February 2020.
This effort assisted in applying the
ANPRM comment responses to estimate
costs.
The FAA used this data and
information to estimate incremental
costs, including new hires of flight
attendants, onboarding, training, travel,
and modifying crew scheduling
software. As some of these certificate
holders implemented the proposed rest
requirement around the time the
FAARA 2018 was enacted or shortly
thereafter, uncertainty exists regarding
whether implementation occurred due
to anticipation of the required rule
change or other business reasons
independent of regulatory action.
Therefore, the FAA measures the costs
of the proposed rule from two baselines
to capture the different levels of
incremental effects attributable to the
rule, consistent with the Office of
Management and Budget’s (OMB)
guidelines:
11
•Existing practices baseline—
certificate holder practices at the time of
the proposed rule.
•Pre-statutory baseline—certificate
holder practices at the time of the
FAARA 2018.
12
Table 2 shows the affected entities by
category in each baseline scenario and
the current number of flight attendants.
T
ABLE
2—P
OTENTIALLY
A
FFECTED
E
NTITIES
Category
Number of
certificate
holders with
incremental
costs
Number of
flight
attendants
Existing Practices Baseline:
Major ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 41,217
National ............................................................................................................................................................. 11 19,458
Passenger and Cargo ...................................................................................................................................... 4 437
Regional ............................................................................................................................................................ 14 6,152
Total ........................................................................................................................................................... 31 67,264
Pre-statutory Baseline:
Major ................................................................................................................................................................. 4 91,420
National ............................................................................................................................................................. 12 21,674
Passenger and Cargo ...................................................................................................................................... 5 739
Regional ............................................................................................................................................................ 15 6,208
Total ........................................................................................................................................................... 36 120,041
1. The number of affected certificate holders does not equal the universe (total number) of certificate holders under both baselines because
some carriers have implemented the rest for other reasons (e.g., regional carriers scheduling flight attendants with pilots).
Table 3 provides the estimates of
annualized and present value costs using both baselines. The key factor
influencing the magnitude of the costs is the selection of the relevant baseline
for the analysis. Note that uncertainties
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exist regarding the characterization of
both baselines, as the FAA does not
have complete information on existing
practices or recent changes that carriers
have made as a result of the FAARA
2018 or in anticipation of the rule. In
addition, with respect to hires, it can be
difficult to differentiate impacts due to
a requirement to provide 10 hours of
rest that cannot be reduced and other
factors including growth or other trends.
The outreach effort confirmed that the
type of operations, which are specific to
each certificate holder, affect the
impacts.
T
ABLE
3—S
UMMARY OF
E
STIMATED
C
OSTS
[Millions]
Discount rate Annualized
cost 5-year
present value
Existing Practices Baseline:
7% ..................................................................................................................................................................... $67.5 $277.0
3% ..................................................................................................................................................................... 67.3 308.3
Pre-statutory Baseline:
7% ..................................................................................................................................................................... 117.9 483.5
3% ..................................................................................................................................................................... 117.7 538.9
Table 4 provides a breakout by
category of certificate holder (for the
seven percent discount rate scenario).
The FAA modeled costs per certificate
holder as a function of the certificate
holder’s size (number of flight
attendants). Table 5 shows the estimated
increases in flight attendants across
categories by baseline scenario. These
results are based on the hiring needs
identified by commenters that
responded to the ANPRM. However, the
FAA acknowledges that the input values
may not be sufficiently representative of
the different certificate holders in each
category.
T
ABLE
4—A
NNUALIZED
C
OSTS BY
C
ATEGORY OF
C
ERTIFICATE
H
OLDER
[Millions, 7% discount rate]
Category Number of
certificate
holders
Annualized
cost
Average
annualized
cost per
certificate
holder
Existing Practices Baseline:
Major ..................................................................................................................................... 2 $45.3 $22.7
National ................................................................................................................................. 11 17.6 1.6
Passenger and Cargo .......................................................................................................... 4 0.3 0.1
Regional ................................................................................................................................ 14 4.2 0.3
Total ............................................................................................................................... 31 67.5 2.2
Pre-statutory Baseline:
Major ..................................................................................................................................... 4 93.6 23.4
National ................................................................................................................................. 12 19.6 1.5
Passenger and Cargo .......................................................................................................... 5 0.5 0.1
Regional ................................................................................................................................ 15 4.2 0.2
Total ............................................................................................................................... 36 117.9 2.7
T
ABLE
5—E
STIMATED
H
IRING BY
C
ATEGORY OF
C
ERTIFICATE
H
OLDER
Category Number of
certificate
holder
Increase in
flight
attendants
Existing Practices Baseline:
Major ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 377
National ............................................................................................................................................................. 11 149
Passenger and Cargo ...................................................................................................................................... 4 3
Regional ............................................................................................................................................................ 14 36
Total ........................................................................................................................................................... 31 565
Pre-statutory Baseline:
Major ................................................................................................................................................................. 4 836
National ............................................................................................................................................................. 12 166
Passenger and Cargo ...................................................................................................................................... 5 4
Regional ............................................................................................................................................................ 15 36
Total ........................................................................................................................................................... 36 1,043
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13
Small Business Administration (SBA) Table of
Size Standards. Effective August 12, 2019. https:// www.sba.gov/document/support--table-size-
standards.
Uncertainty
There are a number of uncertainties in
the analysis. The hiring response by
major certificate holders has potentially
the largest impact on costs. The FAA is
also uncertain about the extent to which
airlines use flexible scheduling, and
requests data and information from the
public regarding how flexible
scheduling is used. For example,
reducing the hiring assumption for these
certificate holders by half reduces
estimated costs by over 30 percent. A
key uncertainty exists regarding any
lingering or lasting changes to the
industry following the COVID–19 public
health emergency and the impact on
benefits and costs.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
of 1980, Public Law 96–354, 94 Stat.
1164 (5 U.S.C. 601–612), as amended by
the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub.
L. 104–121, 110 Stat. 857, Mar. 29,
1996) and the Small Business Jobs Act
of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–240, 124 Stat. 2504
Sept. 27, 2010), requires Federal
agencies to consider the effects of the
regulatory action on small business and
other small entities and to minimize any
significant economic impact. The term
‘‘small entities’’ comprises small
businesses and not-for-profit
organizations that are independently
owned and operated and are not
dominant in their fields, and
governmental jurisdictions with
populations of less than 50,000.
The FAA is publishing this Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA)
to aid the public in commenting on the
potential impacts to small entities from
this proposal. The FAA invites
interested parties to submit data and
information regarding the potential
economic impact that would result from
the proposal. The FAA will consider
comments when making a
determination or when completing a
Final Regulatory Flexibility Assessment.
An IRFA contains the following:
(1) A description of the reasons why
the action by the agency is being
considered;
(2) A succinct statement of the
objective of, and legal basis for, the
proposed rule;
(3) A description of and, where
feasible, an estimate of the number of
small entities to which the proposed
rule will apply;
(4) A description of the projected
reporting, recordkeeping, and other
compliance requirements of the
proposed rule, including an estimate of
the classes of small entities which will
be subject to the requirement and the
type of professional skills necessary for
preparation of the report or record;
(5) An identification, to the extent
practicable, of all relevant Federal rules
that may duplicate, overlap, or conflict
with the proposed rule; and
(6) A description of any significant
alternatives to the proposed rule which
accomplish the stated objectives of
applicable statutes and which minimize
any significant economic impact of the
proposed rule on small entities.
Reasons the Action Is Being Considered
On October 5, 2018, Congress enacted
the FAARA 2018. Section 335(a) of the
FAARA 2018 requires modification of
the flight attendant duty period
limitations and rest requirements to
‘‘ensure that—(A) a flight attendant
scheduled to a duty period of 14 hours
or less is given a scheduled rest period
of at least 10 consecutive hours; and (B)
the rest period is not reduced under any
circumstances.’’ On September 25, 2019,
the FAA published an ANPRM to solicit
input from the public on the regulatory
impact of the mandated changes. The
proposed rulemaking, if finalized,
would modify the flight attendant duty
period limitations and rest requirements
as required by the FAARA 2018.
Objectives of the Proposed Rule
This proposed rule would modify the
flight attendant duty period limitations
and rest requirements in 14 CFR
121.467 consistent with the
requirements of the FAARA 2018. As
such, the minimum rest period for a
flight attendant scheduled for a duty
period of 14 hours would increase from
at least 9 consecutive hours to at least
10 consecutive hours. The FAA would
also remove the ability of the certificate
holder to reduce the rest period that
current regulations allow. This
proposed rule would fulfill the statutory
requirement to provide flight attendants
additional rest, which certificate holders
would not be permitted to reduce.
Description and Estimate of the Number
of Small Entities
The FAA used the definition of small
entities in the RFA for this analysis. The
RFA defines small entities as small
businesses, small governmental
jurisdictions, or small organizations. In
5 U.S.C. 601(3), the RFA defines ‘‘small
business’’ to have the same meaning as
‘‘small business concern’’ under section
3 of the Small Business Act. The Small
Business Act authorizes the Small
Business Administration (SBA) to
define ‘‘small business’’ by issuing
regulations.
The SBA established size standards
for various types of economic activities,
or industries, under the North American
Industry Classification System
(NAICS).
13
These size standards
generally define small businesses based
on the number of employees or annual
receipts. Table 6 shows the SBA size
standards for certificate holders as an
example. Note that the SBA definition
of a small business applies to the parent
company and all affiliates as a single
entity.
T
ABLE
6—S
MALL
B
USINESS
S
IZE
S
TANDARDS
: A
IR
T
RANSPORTATION
NAICS code Description SBA size standard
481111 .................... Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation .............................................................. 1,500 employees.
481112 .................... Scheduled Freight Air Transportation .................................................................... 1,500 employees.
481211 .................... Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation ....................................... 1,500 employees.
481212 .................... Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation ............................................. 1,500 employees.
481219 .................... Other Nonscheduled Air Transportation ................................................................ $16.5 million.
Certificate holders affected by the
proposed requirements for flight
attendant rest are those authorized to
conduct operations under 14 CFR part
121. To identify small entities, the FAA
first identified the primary NAICS of the
certificate holder or parent company,
and then used data from different
sources (e.g., company annual reports,
Bureau of Transportation Statistics) to
determine whether the certificate holder
meets the applicable size standard.
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Table 7 provides a summary of the estimated number of small entities to
which this proposed rule would apply.
T
ABLE
7—E
STIMATED
N
UMBER OF
S
MALL
E
NTITIES
Category Number of
entities
Number
small
entities
Percent
small
entities
Major ............................................................................................................................................ 4 0 0
National ........................................................................................................................................ 13 4 31
Passenger and Cargo .................................................................................................................. 5 2 40
Regional ....................................................................................................................................... 21 4 19
Total ...................................................................................................................................... 43 10 23
Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping,
and Other Compliance Requirements
No new recordkeeping or reporting
requirements are associated with the
proposed rule. Small entity compliance
with the proposed rule might entail
hiring additional flight attendants,
providing initial and recurring training,
travel and per diem costs, and
modifying software. In addition, costs
might result from updating procedural
manuals.
Table 8 shows the estimated
annualized compliance costs by
category and the number of small
entities in each category. Based on
average compliance costs, impacts do
not appear disproportionate to small
entities. Also, regional certificate
holders, which account for four of the
identified small entities, may be less
likely affected by the proposed rule due
to scheduling flight attendants with
pilots. To the extent that small entities
provide more unique services or serve
markets with less competition, these
entities might be able to pass on costs
in the form of price increases.
T
ABLE
8—A
VERAGE
C
OST OF
C
OMPLIANCE AND
S
MALL
E
NTITIES
Category Number
of small
entities
Average
annualized
cost per
certificate
holder
(millions)
1
Major ........................................................................................................................................................................ 0 $22.7
National .................................................................................................................................................................... 4 $1.6
Passenger and Cargo .............................................................................................................................................. 2 $0.1
Regional ................................................................................................................................................................... 4 $0.3
1
Based on a baseline of existing practices and using a 7% discount rate.
All Federal Rules That May Duplicate,
Overlap, or Conflict
There are no relevant Federal rules
that may duplicate, overlap, or conflict
with the proposed rule.
Significant Alternatives Considered
The FAA considered conducting a
comprehensive review and revision of
the flight attendant duty and rest
regulations, similar to revisions the FAA
made in the Flightcrew Member Duty
and Rest Requirements rule. 77 FR 330
(Jan. 4, 2012). The FAA rejected this
alternative because of the narrow scope
of the statutory mandate for rulemaking.
Additionally, the FAA lacks data-based
rationale that indicates a comprehensive
update is necessary. Also, increased
comprehensive or stringent
requirements could add burden rather
than reduce burden on small entities.
Section 335(a) contains instruction on
specific, prescriptive amendments to the
existing rest requirement. Any lower-
cost alternatives would contravene the
statute. Therefore, the FAA did not
identify or consider any lower-cost
alternatives to the statutory mandate.
C. International Trade Impact
Assessment
The Trade Agreements Act of 1979
(Pub. L. 96–39), as amended by the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (Pub.
L. 103–465), prohibits Federal agencies
from establishing standards or engaging
in related activities that create
unnecessary obstacles to the foreign
commerce of the United States.
Pursuant to these Acts, the
establishment of standards is not
considered an unnecessary obstacle to
the foreign commerce of the United
States, so long as the standard has a
legitimate domestic objective, such as
the protection of safety and does not
operate in a manner that excludes
imports that meet this objective. The
statute also requires consideration of
international standards and, where
appropriate, that they be the basis for
U.S. standards. The requirements of this
proposed rule would not create an
obstacle to foreign commerce because
they would apply only to flight
attendants serving in operations
conducted by U.S.-certificate holders
conducting operations under part 121.
D. Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.,
5 CFR 1320.8(d) requires that the FAA
provide interested members of the
public and affected agencies an
opportunity to comment on information
collection and recordkeeping requests.
This action does not impose new
information collection requirements as
defined in 14 CFR part 1320.
E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of
1995
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531–1538) governs
the issuance of Federal regulations that
require unfunded mandates. An
unfunded mandate is a regulation that
requires a State, local, or tribal
government or the private sector to
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incur direct costs without the Federal
government having first provided the
funds to pay those costs. The FAA
determined that the proposed rule to
address section 335(a) of the FAARA
2018 would not result in costs of $155
million or more, adjusted for inflation,
to either State, local, or tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or to the
private sector in any one year.
F. International Compatibility
In keeping with U.S. obligations
under the Convention on International
Civil Aviation, it is FAA policy to
conform to ICAO Standards and
Recommended Practices to the
maximum extent practicable. The FAA
has reviewed the corresponding ICAO
Standards and Recommended Practices
and has identified no differences with
these proposed regulations.
G. Environmental Analysis
FAA Order 1050.1F identifies FAA
actions that are categorically excluded
from preparation of an environmental
assessment or environmental impact
statement under NEPA in the absence of
extraordinary circumstances. The FAA
has determined this rulemaking action
qualifies for the categorical exclusion
identified in paragraph 5–6.6f, and that
no extraordinary circumstances exist.
VI. Executive Order Determinations
A. Executive Order 12866 and Executive
Order 13563
The FAA has determined this action
is a significant regulatory action under
section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866
that would be reviewed by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). The
rulemaking is also a significant
regulatory action under DOT Order
2100.6A ‘‘Rulemaking and Guidance
Procedures,’’ issued by the Department
of Transportation on June 7, 2021.
Executive Orders 12866, ‘‘Regulatory
Planning and Review,’’ 58 FR 51735
(Oct. 4, 1993), and 13563, ‘‘Improving
Regulation and Regulatory Review,’’ 76
FR 3821 (Jan. 21, 2011), require agencies
to regulate in the ‘‘most cost-effective
manner,’’ to make a ‘‘reasoned
determination that the benefits of the
intended regulation justify its costs,’’
and to develop regulations that ‘‘impose
the least burden on society.’’ Executive
Order 13610, ‘‘Identifying and Reducing
Regulatory Burdens,’’ 77 FR 28469 (May
14, 2012), urges agencies to conduct
retrospective analyses of existing rules
to examine whether they remain
justified and whether they should be
modified or streamlined in light of
changed circumstances, including the
rise of new technologies.
Additionally, Executive Orders 12866,
13563, and 13610 require agencies to
provide a meaningful opportunity for
public participation. Accordingly, the
FAA invites comments on these
considerations, including any cost or
benefit figures or factors, alternative
approaches, and relevant scientific,
technical and economic data.
B. Executive Order 13132, Federalism
Executive Order 13132, ‘‘Federalism,’’
64 FR 43255 (Aug. 10, 1999), requires
agencies to assure meaningful and
timely input by State and local officials
in the development of regulatory
policies that may have ‘‘substantial
direct effects on the States, on the
relationship between the national
government and the States, or on the
distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
levels of government.’’ The Agency has
determined that this action would not
have a substantial direct effect on the
States, or the relationship between the
Federal Government and the States, or
on the distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
levels of government, and, therefore,
would not have Federalism
implications.
C. Executive Order 13175, Consultation
and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
Consistent with Executive Order
13175, ‘‘Consultation and Coordination
with Indian Tribal Governments,’’ and
FAA Order 1210.20, ‘‘American Indian
and Alaska Native Tribal Consultation
Policy and Procedures,’’ the FAA
ensures that Federally Recognized
Tribes (Tribes) are given the opportunity
to provide meaningful and timely input
regarding proposed Federal actions that
have the potential to uniquely or
significantly affect their respective
Tribes. At this point, the FAA has not
identified any unique or significant
effects, environmental or otherwise, on
tribes resulting from this proposed rule.
D. Executive Order 13609, Promoting
International Regulatory Cooperation
and International Trade Analysis
Under Executive Order 13609,
‘‘Promoting International Regulatory
Cooperation,’’ 77 FR 26413 (May 4,
2012), agencies must consider whether
the impacts associated with significant
variations between domestic and
international regulatory approaches are
unnecessary or may impair the ability of
American businesses to export and
compete internationally. In meeting
shared challenges involving health,
safety, labor, security, environmental,
and other issues, regulatory approaches
developed through international
cooperation can provide equivalent
protection to standards developed
independently while also minimizing
unnecessary differences.
VII. Additional Information
A. Comments Invited
The FAA invites interested persons to
participate in this rulemaking by
submitting written comments, data, or
views. The Agency also invites
comments relating to the economic,
environmental, energy, or federalism
impacts that might result from adopting
the proposals in this document. The
most helpful comments reference a
specific portion of the proposal, explain
the reason for any recommended
change, and include supporting data. To
ensure the docket does not contain
duplicate comments, commenters
should send only one copy of written
comments, or if comments are filed
electronically, commenters should
submit only one time.
The FAA will file in the docket all
comments it receives, as well as a report
summarizing each substantive public
contact with FAA personnel concerning
this proposed rulemaking. Before acting
on this proposal, the FAA will consider
all comments it receives on or before the
closing date for comments. The FAA
will consider comments filed after the
comment period has closed if it is
possible to do so without incurring
expense or delay. The Agency may
change this proposal in light of the
comments it receives.
B. Confidential Business Information
Confidential Business Information
(CBI) is commercial or financial
information that is both customarily and
actually treated as private by its owner.
Under the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt
from public disclosure. If your
comments responsive to this NPRM
contain commercial or financial
information that is customarily treated
as private, that you actually treat as
private, and that is relevant or
responsive to this NPRM, it is important
that you clearly designate the submitted
comments as CBI. Please mark each
page of your submission containing CBI
as ‘‘PROPIN.’’ The FAA will treat such
marked submissions as confidential
under the FOIA, and they will not be
placed in the public docket of this
NPRM. Submissions containing CBI
should be sent to the person in the
FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of
this document. Any commentary that
the FAA receives which is not
specifically designated as CBI will be
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60434
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 209 / Tuesday, November 2, 2021 / Proposed Rules
placed in the public docket for this
rulemaking.
C. Electronic Access and Filing
A copy of the ANPRM, NPRM, all
comments received, any final rule, and
all background material may be viewed
online at https://www.regulations.gov
using the docket number listed above. A
copy of this proposed rule will be
placed in the docket. Electronic retrieval
help and guidelines are available on the
website. It is available 24 hours each
day, 365 days each year. An electronic
copy of this document may also be
downloaded from the Office of the
Federal Register’s website at https://
www.federalregister.gov and the
Government Publishing Office’s website
at https://www.govinfo.gov. A copy may
also be found at the FAA’s Regulations
and Policies website at https://
www.faa.gov/regulations_policies.
Copies may also be obtained by
sending a request to the Federal
Aviation Administration, Office of
Rulemaking, ARM–1, 800 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591, or
by calling (202) 267–9677. Commenters
must identify the docket or notice
number of this rulemaking.
All documents the FAA considered in
developing this proposed rule,
including economic analyses and
technical reports, may be accessed in
the electronic docket for this
rulemaking.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 121
Air carriers, Aviation safety, Safety,
Transportation.
The Proposed Amendment
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, the Federal Aviation
Administration proposes to amend
chapter I of title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations as follows:
PART 121—OPERATING
REQUIREMENTS: DOMESTIC, FLAG,
AND SUPPLEMENTAL OPERATIONS
■1. The authority citation for part 121
is revised to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40103,
40113, 40119, 41706, 42301 preceding note
added by Pub. L. 112–95, sec. 412, 126 Stat.
89, 44101, 44701–44702, 44705, 44709–
44711, 44713, 44716–44717, 44722, 44729,
44732; 46105; Pub. L. 111–216, 124 Stat.
2348 (49 U.S.C. 44701 note); Pub. L. 112–95,
126 Stat 62 (49 U.S.C. 44732 note); Pub. L.
115–254, 132 Stat 3186 (49 U.S.C. 44701
note).
■2. Amend § 121.467 by revising
paragraphs (b)(2) and (3) to read as
follows:
§ 121.467 Flight attendant duty period
limitations and rest requirements:
Domestic, flag, and supplemental
operations.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(2) A flight attendant scheduled to a
duty period of 14 hours or less as
provided under paragraph (b)(1) of this
section must be given a scheduled rest
period of at least 10 consecutive hours.
This rest period must occur between the
completion of the scheduled duty
period and the commencement of the
subsequent duty period.
(3) The rest period required under
paragraph (b)(2) of this section may not
be reduced to less than 10 consecutive
hours.
* * * * *
Issued in Washington, DC, under authority
provided by 49 U.S.C. 106(f) and 44701(a)(5)
on October 20, 2021.
Steve Dickson,
Administrator, Federal Aviation
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021–23253 Filed 11–1–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R08–OAR–2020–0644; FRL–9164–01–
R8]
Approval and Promulgation of
Implementation Plans; Colorado;
Denver Metro/North Front Range
Nonattainment Area; Nonattainment
NSR Permit Program Certification for
the 2015 8-Hour Ozone Standard
AGENCY
: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION
: Proposed rule.
SUMMARY
: The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a
state implementation plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the State of Colorado. The
revision certifies that the State of
Colorado has fulfilled, through a
previous SIP revision, Nonattainment
New Source Review (NNSR) Permit
Program requirements under the 2015
8-hour ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the
Denver Metro/North Front Range
(DMNFR) area. The State of Colorado
submitted the appropriate certification
to meet the nonattainment requirements
for Marginal ozone nonattainment areas
(NAAs) for the 2015 8-hour ozone
NAAQS. The EPA is taking this action
pursuant to sections 110, 172, and 173
of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES
: Written comments must be
received on or before December 2, 2021.
ADDRESSES
: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R08–
OAR–2020–0644, to the Federal
Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from
www.regulations.gov. The EPA may
publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit
electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video,
etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is
considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points
you wish to make. The EPA will
generally not consider comments or
comment contents located outside of the
primary submission (i.e., on the web,
cloud, or other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, the full
EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
Docket: All documents in the docket
are listed in the www.regulations.gov
index. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly
available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, will be publicly
available only in hard copy. Publicly
available docket materials are available
electronically in www.regulations.gov.
To reduce the risk of COVID–19
transmission, for this action we do not
plan to offer hard copy review of the
docket. Please email or call the person
listed in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT
section if you need to make
alternative arrangements for access to
the docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Matthew Lang, Air and Radiation
Division, EPA, Region 8, Mailcode
8ARD–IO, 1595 Wynkoop Street,
Denver, Colorado 80202–1129, (303)
312–6709, lang.matthew@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
Throughout this document wherever
‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean
the EPA.
I. Background
Ground-level ozone is formed when
nitrogen oxides (NO
X
) and volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) react in the
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