US airlines have successfully stalled the US Federal Aviation Administration's enforcement of a 16h maximum crew duty day by winning an action in the US,Court of Appeals.
The FAA enforcement date was 17 November, and this action means US carriers will have until at least January to adjust their current schedules.
The Regional Airlines Association (RAA) president Deborah McElroy says that the FAA had recognised that it would take carriers a "significant amount of time to comply" with the 16h crew duty time (CDT) regulation, and that the Court of Appeals had recognised this.
McElroy claims that many of the RAA airlines CDT limits are in their contracts, and that the FAA should examine "fatigue issues that may exist from pilots' other activities".
The Air Transport Association's (ATA) president Carol Hallett agrees that the FAA should rule that pilots have an obligation to ensure that they are properly rested and fit for duty.
The ATA has recommended a duty limit of 14h, extendable to 16h to accommodate "unusual circumstances beyond the control of the airline".
The Air Line Pilots Association president, Duane Woerth, says the decision is "incomprehensible and totally unacceptable", and has asked the FAA to issue an expedited rule with a 60-day comment period.
Woerth alleges that the airlines are trying to kill - or at least delay - the 16h enforcement, and blames them for the FAA's failure to overhaul the fatigue regulations, which have been on the cards for six years.
Source: Flight International