481 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 135.273 

that emergency medical evacuation op-
eration and must be given a rest period 
in compliance with paragraph (h) of 
this section. 

(d) Each flight crewmember must re-

ceive at least 8 consecutive hours of 
rest during any 24 consecutive hour pe-
riod of a HEMES assignment. A flight 
crewmember must be relieved of the 
HEMES assignment if he or she has not 
or cannot receive at least 8 consecutive 
hours of rest during any 24 consecutive 
hour period of a HEMES assignment. 

(e) A HEMES assignment may not ex-

ceed 72 consecutive hours at the hos-
pital. 

(f) An adequate place of rest must be 

provided at, or in close proximity to, 
the hospital at which the HEMES as-
signment is being performed. 

(g) No certificate holder may assign 

any other duties to a flight crew-
member during a HEMES assignment. 

(h) Each pilot must be given a rest 

period upon completion of the HEMES 
assignment and prior to being assigned 
any further duty with the certificate 
holder of— 

(1) At least 12 consecutive hours for 

an assignment of less than 48 hours. 

(2) At least 16 consecutive hours for 

an assignment of more than 48 hours. 

(i) The certificate holder must pro-

vide each flight crewmember at least 13 
rest periods of at least 24 consecutive 
hours each in each calendar quarter. 

§ 135.273 Duty period limitations and 

rest time requirements. 

(a) For purposes of this section— 

Calendar day 

means the period of 

elapsed time, using Coordinated Uni-
versal Time or local time, that begins 
at midnight and ends 24 hours later at 
the next midnight. 

Duty period 

means the period of 

elapsed time between reporting for an 
assignment involving flight time and 
release from that assignment by the 
certificate holder. The time is cal-
culated using either Coordinated Uni-
versal Time or local time to reflect the 
total elapsed time. 

Flight attendant 

means an individual, 

other than a flight crewmember, who is 
assigned by the certificate holder, in 
accordance with the required minimum 
crew complement under the certificate 
holder’s operations specifications or in 

addition to that minimum com-
plement, to duty in an aircraft during 
flight time and whose duties include 
but are not necessarily limited to 
cabin-safety-related responsibilities. 

Rest period 

means the period free of 

all responsibility for work or duty 
should the occasion arise. 

(b) Except as provided in paragraph 

(c) of this section, a certificate holder 
may assign a duty period to a flight at-
tendant only when the applicable duty 
period limitations and rest require-
ments of this paragraph are met. 

(1) Except as provided in paragraphs 

(b)(4), (b)(5), and (b)(6) of this section, 
no certificate holder may assign a 
flight attendant to a scheduled duty 
period of more than 14 hours. 

(2) Except as provided in paragraph 

(b)(3) of this section, 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 9 con-
secutive hours. This rest period must 
occur between the completion of the 
scheduled duty period and the com-
mencement of the subsequent duty pe-
riod. 

(3) The rest period required under 

paragraph (b)(2) of this section may be 
scheduled or reduced to 8 consecutive 
hours if the flight attendant is pro-
vided a subsequent rest period of at 
least 10 consecutive hours; this subse-
quent rest period must be scheduled to 
begin no later than 24 hours after the 
beginning of the reduced rest period 
and must occur between the comple-
tion of the scheduled duty period and 
the commencement of the subsequent 
duty period. 

(4) A certificate holder may assign a 

flight attendant to a scheduled duty 
period of more than 14 hours, but no 
more than 16 hours, if the certificate 
holder has assigned to the flight or 
flights in that duty period at least one 
flight attendant in addition to the min-
imum flight attendant complement re-
quired for the flight or flights in that 
duty period under the certificate hold-
er’s operations specifications. 

(5) A certificate holder may assign a 

flight attendant to a scheduled duty 
period of more than 16 hours, but no 
more than 18 hours, if the certificate 
holder has assigned to the flight or 

482 

14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition) 

§ 135.273 

flights in that duty period at least two 
flight attendants in addition to the 
minimum flight attendant complement 
required for the flight or flights in that 
duty period under the certificate hold-
er’s operations specifications. 

(6) A certificate holder may assign a 

flight attendant to a scheduled duty 
period of more than 18 hours, but no 
more than 20 hours, if the scheduled 
duty period includes one or more 
flights that land or take off outside the 
48 contiguous states and the District of 
Columbia, and if the certificate holder 
has assigned to the flight or flights in 
that duty period at least three flight 
attendants in addition to the minimum 
flight attendant complement required 
for the flight or flights in that duty pe-
riod under the certificate holder’s oper-
ations specifications. 

(7) Except as provided in paragraph 

(b)(8) of this section, a flight attendant 
scheduled to a duty period of more 
than 14 hours but no more than 20 
hours, as provided in paragraphs (b)(4), 
(b)(5), and (b)(6) of this section, must be 
given a scheduled rest period of at least 
12 consecutive hours. This rest period 
must occur between the completion of 
the scheduled duty period and the com-
mencement of the subsequent duty pe-
riod. 

(8) The rest period required under 

paragraph (b)(7) of this section may be 
scheduled or reduced to 10 consecutive 
hours if the flight attendant is pro-
vided a subsequent rest period of at 
least 14 consecutive hours; this subse-
quent rest period must be scheduled to 
begin no later than 24 hours after the 
beginning of the reduced rest period 
and must occur between the comple-
tion of the scheduled duty period and 
the commencement of the subsequent 
duty period. 

(9) Notwithstanding paragraphs 

(b)(4), (b)(5), and (b)(6) of this section, if 
a certificate holder elects to reduce the 
rest period to 10 hours as authorized by 
paragraph (b)(8) of this section, the cer-
tificate holder may not schedule a 
flight attendant for a duty period of 
more than 14 hours during the 24-hour 
period commencing after the beginning 
of the reduced rest period. 

(10) No certificate holder may assign 

a flight attendant any duty period with 
the certificate holder unless the flight 

attendant has had at least the min-
imum rest required under this section. 

(11) No certificate holder may assign 

a flight attendant to perform any duty 
with the certificate holder during any 
required rest period. 

(12) Time spent in transportation, 

not local in character, that a certifi-
cate holder requires of a flight attend-
ant and provides to transport the flight 
attendant to an airport at which that 
flight attendant is to serve on a flight 
as a crewmember, or from an airport at 
which the flight attendant was relieved 
from duty to return to the flight at-
tendant’s home station, is not consid-
ered part of a rest period. 

(13) Each certificate holder must re-

lieve each flight attendant engaged in 
air transportation from all further 
duty for at least 24 consecutive hours 
during any 7 consecutive calendar 
days. 

(14) A flight attendant is not consid-

ered to be scheduled for duty in excess 
of duty period limitations if the flights 
to which the flight attendant is as-
signed are scheduled and normally ter-
minate within the limitations but due 
to circumstances beyond the control of 
the certificate holder (such as adverse 
weather conditions) are not at the time 
of departure expected to reach their 
destination within the scheduled time. 

(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b) of 

this section, a certificate holder may 
apply the flight crewmember flight 
time and duty limitations and rest re-
quirements of this part to flight at-
tendants for all operations conducted 
under this part provided that— 

(1) The certificate holder establishes 

written procedures that— 

(i) Apply to all flight attendants used 

in the certificate holder’s operation; 

(ii) Include the flight crewmember 

requirements contained in subpart F of 
this part, as appropriate to the oper-
ation being conducted, except that rest 
facilities on board the aircraft are not 
required; and 

(iii) Include provisions to add one 

flight attendant to the minimum flight 
attendant complement for each flight 
crewmember who is in excess of the 
minimum number required in the air-
craft type certificate data sheet and 
who is assigned to the aircraft under 

483 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 135.293 

the provisions of subpart F of this part, 
as applicable. 

(iv) Are approved by the Adminis-

trator and described or referenced in 
the certificate holder’s operations 
specifications; and 

(2) Whenever the Administrator finds 

that revisions are necessary for the 
continued adequacy of duty period lim-
itation and rest requirement proce-
dures that are required by paragraph 
(c)(1) of this section and that had been 
granted final approval, the certificate 
holder must, after notification by the 
Administrator, make any changes in 
the procedures that are found nec-
essary by the Administrator. Within 30 
days after the certificate holder re-
ceives such notice, it may file a peti-
tion to reconsider the notice with the 
responsible Flight Standards office. 
The filing of a petition to reconsider 
stays the notice, pending decision by 
the Administrator. However, if the Ad-
ministrator finds that there is an 
emergency that requires immediate ac-
tion in the interest of safety, the Ad-
ministrator may, upon a statement of 
the reasons, require a change effective 
without stay. 

[Amdt. 135–52, 59 FR 42993, Aug. 19, 1994, as 
amended by Amdt. 135–60, 61 FR 2616, Jan. 26, 
1996; Docket FAA–2018–0119, Amdt. 135–139, 83 
FR 9175, Mar. 5, 2018] 

Subpart G—Crewmember Testing 

Requirements 

§ 135.291 Applicability. 

Except as provided in § 135.3, this sub-

part— 

(a) Prescribes the tests and checks 

required for pilot and flight attendant 
crewmembers and for the approval of 
check pilots in operations under this 
part; and 

(b) Permits training center personnel 

authorized under part 142 of this chap-
ter who meet the requirements of 
§§ 135.337 and 135.339 to conduct train-
ing, testing, and checking under con-
tract or other arrangement to those 
persons subject to the requirements of 
this subpart. 

[Doc. No. 26933, 61 FR 34561, July 2, 1996, as 
amended by Amdt. 135–91, 68 FR 54587, Sept. 
17, 2003] 

§ 135.293 Initial and recurrent pilot 

testing requirements. 

(a) No certificate holder may use a 

pilot, nor may any person serve as a 
pilot, unless, since the beginning of the 
12th calendar month before that serv-
ice, that pilot has passed a written or 
oral test, given by the Administrator 
or an authorized check pilot, on that 
pilot’s knowledge in the following 
areas— 

(1) The appropriate provisions of 

parts 61, 91, and 135 of this chapter and 
the operations specifications and the 
manual of the certificate holder; 

(2) For each type of aircraft to be 

flown by the pilot, the aircraft power-
plant, major components and systems, 
major appliances, performance and op-
erating limitations, standard and 
emergency operating procedures, and 
the contents of the approved Aircraft 
Flight Manual or equivalent, as appli-
cable; 

(3) For each type of aircraft to be 

flown by the pilot, the method of deter-
mining compliance with weight and 
balance limitations for takeoff, landing 
and en route operations; 

(4) Navigation and use of air naviga-

tion aids appropriate to the operation 
or pilot authorization, including, when 
applicable, instrument approach facili-
ties and procedures; 

(5) Air traffic control procedures, in-

cluding IFR procedures when applica-
ble; 

(6) Meteorology in general, including 

the principles of frontal systems, icing, 
fog, thunderstorms, and windshear, 
and, if appropriate for the operation of 
the certificate holder, high altitude 
weather; 

(7) Procedures for— 
(i) Recognizing and avoiding severe 

weather situations; 

(ii) Escaping from severe weather sit-

uations, in case of inadvertent encoun-
ters, including low-altitude windshear 
(except that rotorcraft pilots are not 
required to be tested on escaping from 
low-altitude windshear); 

(iii) Operating in or near thunder-

storms (including best penetrating al-
titudes), turbulent air (including clear 
air turbulence), icing, hail, and other 
potentially hazardous meteorological 
conditions; and