FAA Committee to Tackle Part 135 Pilot Flight, Duty and Rest Rules

Last week the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published the Part 135 Pilot Rest and Duty Rules Aviation Rulemaking Committee charter, signaling the beginning of a new effort to revise the long-standing, existing rules.

Congress mandated this ARC in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 15-254, Sec. 315). According to the FAA charter, the ARC will be limited to twenty members including representatives from Part 135 and fractional ownership operations and pilot unions as well as other safety experts. The ARC will be led by an FAA Co-Chair and an Industry Co-Chair selected from the Part 135 operations community.

Once the ARC members are selected and meetings commence, they will have 16 months to review the regulations and submit recommendations for any changes to the FAA.

NATA has a history of representing the interests of the Part 135 industry on prior ARCs concerning these rules. NATA will continue to advocate for reasonable regulations that protect against crew fatigue while accommodating the unique aspects of the industry, as directed by Congress in creating this mandate.