ORO.FTL.100 Scope

Regulation (EU) No 83/2014

This Subpart establishes the requirements to be met by an operator and its crew members with regard to flight and duty time limitations and rest requirements for crew members.

ORO.FTL.105 Definitions

Regulation (EU) 2018/1975

For the purpose of this Subpart, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) ‘acclimatised’ means a state in which a crew member’s circadian biological clock is synchronised to the time zone where the crew member is. A crew member is considered to be acclimatised to a 2-hour wide time zone surrounding the local time at the point of departure. When the local time at the place where a duty commences differs by more than 2 hours from the local time at the place where the next duty starts, the crew member, for the calculation of the maximum daily flight duty period, is considered to be acclimatised in accordance with the values in the Table 1.

Table 1

Time difference (h) between reference time and local time where the crew member starts the next duty

Time elapsed since reporting at reference time

 

<48

48–71:59

72–95:59

96–119:59

≥120

< 4

B

D

D

D

D

≤6

B

X

D

D

D

≤9

B

X

X

D

D

≤12

B

X

X

X

D

‘B’ means acclimatised to the local time of the departure time zone,

‘D’ means acclimatised to the local time where the crew member starts his/her next duty, and

‘X’ means that a crew member is in an unknown state of acclimatisation.

(2) ‘reference time’ means the local time at the reporting point situated in a 2-hour wide time zone band around the local time where a crew member is acclimatised;

(3) ‘accommodation’ means, for the purpose of standby and split duty, a quiet and comfortable place not open to the public with the ability to control light and temperature, equipped with adequate furniture that provides a crew member with the possibility to sleep, with enough capacity to accommodate all crew members present at the same time and with access to food and drink;

(4) ‘suitable accommodation’ means, for the purpose of standby, split duty and rest, a separate room for each crew member located in a quiet environment and equipped with a bed, which is sufficiently ventilated, has a device for regulating temperature and light intensity, and access to food and drink;

(5) ‘augmented flight crew’ means a flight crew which comprises more than the minimum number required to operate the aircraft, allowing each flight crew member to leave the assigned post, for the purpose of in-flight rest, and to be replaced by another appropriately qualified flight crew member;

(6) ‘break’ means a period of time within an flight duty period, shorter than a rest period, counting as duty and during which a crew member is free of all tasks;

(7) ‘delayed reporting’ means the postponement of a scheduled FDP by the operator before a crew member has left the place of rest;

(8) ‘disruptive schedule’ means a crew member’s roster which disrupts the sleep opportunity during the optimal sleep time window by comprising an FDP or a combination of FDPs which encroach, start or finish during any portion of the day or of the night where a crew member is acclimatised. A schedule may be disruptive due to early starts, late finishes or night duties.

(a) ‘early type’ of disruptive schedule means:

(i) for ‘early start’ a duty period starting in the period between 05:00 and 05:59 in the time zone to which a crew member is acclimatised, and

(ii) for ‘late finish’ a duty period finishing in the period between 23:00 and 01:59 in the time zone to which a crew member is acclimatised;

(b) ‘late type’ of disruptive schedule means:

(i) for ‘early start’ a duty period starting in the period between 05:00 and 06:59 in the time zone to which a crew member is acclimatised; and

(ii) for ‘late finish’ a duty period finishing in the period between 00:00 and 01:59 in the time zone to which a crew member is acclimatised;

(9) ‘night duty’ means a duty period encroaching any portion of the period between 02:00 and 04:59 in the time zone to which the crew is acclimatised;

(10) ‘duty’ means any task that a crew member performs for the operator, including flight duty, administrative work, giving or receiving training and checking, positioning, and some elements of standby;

(11) ‘duty period’ means a period which starts when a crew member is required by an operator to report for or to commence a duty and ends when that person is free of all duties, including post-flight duty;

(12) ‘flight duty period ('FDP')’ means a period that commences when a crew member is required to report for duty, which includes a sector or a series of sectors, and finishes when the aircraft finally comes to rest and the engines are shut down, at the end of the last sector on which the crew member acts as an operating crew member;

(13) ‘flight time’ means, for aeroplanes, the time between an aircraft first moving from its parking place for the purpose of taking off until it comes to rest on the designated parking position and all engines or propellers are shut down.

(14) ‘home base’ means the location, assigned by the operator to the crew member, from where the crew member normally starts and ends a duty period or a series of duty periods and where, under normal circumstances, the operator is not responsible for the accommodation of the crew member concerned;

(15) ‘local day’ means a 24-hour period commencing at 00:00 local time;

(16) ‘local night’ means a period of 8 hours falling between 22:00 and 08:00 local time;

(17) ‘operating crew member’ means a crew member carrying out duties in an aircraft during a sector;

(18) ‘positioning’ means the transferring of a non-operating crew member from one place to another, at the behest of the operator, excluding:

             the time of travel from a private place of rest to the designated reporting place at home base and vice versa, and

             the time for local transfer from a place of rest to the commencement of duty and vice versa;

(19) ‘rest facility’ means a bunk or seat with leg and foot support suitable for crew members' sleeping on board an aircraft.

(20) ‘reserve’ means a period of time during which a crew member is required by the operator to be available to receive an assignment for an FDP, positioning or other duty notified at least 10 hours in advance.

(21) ‘rest period’ means a continuous, uninterrupted and defined period of time, following duty or prior to duty, during which a crew member is free of all duties, standby and reserve.

(22) ‘rotation’ is a duty or a series of duties, including at least one flight duty, and rest periods out of home base, starting at home base and ending when returning to home base for a rest period where the operator is no longer responsible for the accommodation of the crew member.

(23) ‘single day free of duty’ means, for the purpose of complying with the provisions of Council Directive 2000/79/EC, a time free of all duties and standby consisting of one day and two local nights, which is notified in advance. A rest period may be included as part of the single day free of duty.

(24) ‘sector’ means the segment of an FDP between an aircraft first moving for the purpose of taking off until it comes to rest after landing on the designated parking position.

(25) ‘standby’ means a pre-notified and defined period of time during which a crew member is required by the operator to be available to receive an assignment for a flight, positioning or other duty without an intervening rest period.

(26) ‘airport standby’ means a standby performed at the airport;

(27) ‘other standby’ means a standby either at home or in a suitable accommodation;

(28) ‘window of circadian low ('WOCL') means the period between 02:00 and 05:59 hours in the time zone to which a crew member is acclimatised.

ACCLIMATISED

(a) A crew member remains acclimatised to the local time of his or her reference time during 47 hours 59 minutes after reporting no matter how many time zones he/she has crossed.

(b) The maximum daily FDP for acclimatised crew members is determined by using table 1 of ORO.FTL.205(b)(1) with the reference time of the point of departure. As soon as 48 hours have elapsed, the state of acclimatisation is derived from the time elapsed since reporting at reference time and the number of time zones crossed.

(c) A crew member is considered to be in an unknown state of acclimatisation after the first 48 hours of the rotation have elapsed unless he or she remains in the first arrival destination time zone (either for rest or any duties) in accordance with the table in ORO.FTL.105(1).

(d) Should a crew member’s rotation include additional duties that end in a different time zone than his or her first arrival destination’s time zone while he or she is considered to be in an unknown state of acclimatisation, then the crew member remains in an unknown state of acclimatisation until he or she:

(1) has taken the rest period required by CS FTL.1.235(b)(3) at home base; 

(2) has taken the rest period required by CS FTL.1.235(b)(3) at the new location; or

(3) has been undertaking duties starting at and returning to the time zone of the new location until he or she becomes acclimatised in accordance with the values in the table in ORO.FTL.105(1).

To determine the state of acclimatisation, the two following criteria should be applied:

(i) the greater of the time differences between the time zone where he or she was last acclimatised or the local time of his or her last departure point and the new location; and

(ii) the time elapsed since reporting at home base for the first time during the rotation.

ACCLIMATISED ‘POINT OF DEPARTURE’

The point of departure refers to the reporting point for a flight duty period or positioning duty after a rest period.

ACCLIMATISED ‘TIME ELAPSED SINCE REPORTING AT REFERENCE TIME’

The time elapsed since reporting at reference time for operations applying CS FTL.1.235(b)(3)(ii) at home base refers to the time elapsed since reporting for the first time at home base for a rotation.

REFERENCE TIME

(a) Reference time refers to reporting points in a 2-hour wide time zone band around the local time where a crew member is acclimatised.

(b) Example: A crew member is acclimatised to the local time in Helsinki and reports for duty in London. The reference time is the local time in London.

ADEQUATE FURNITURE FOR ‘ACCOMMODATION’

Adequate furniture for crew member accommodation should include a seat that reclines at least 45° back angle to the vertical, has a seat width of at least 20 inches (50cm) and provides leg and foot support.

DETERMINATION OF DISRUPTIVE SCHEDULES

If a crew member is acclimatised to the local time at his/her home base, the local time at the home base should be used to consider an FDP as ‘disruptive schedule’. This applies to operations within the 2-hour wide time zone surrounding the local time at the home base, if a crew member is acclimatised to the local time at his/her home base.

ELEMENTS OF STANDBY FOR DUTY

ORO.FTL.225(c) and (d) and CS FTL.1.225(b)(2) determine which elements of standby count as duty.

OPERATING CREW MEMBER

A person on board an aircraft is either a crew member or a passenger. If a crew member is not a passenger on board an aircraft he/she should be considered as ‘carrying out duties’. The crew member remains an operating crew member during in-flight rest. In-flight rest counts in full as FDP, and for the purpose of ORO.FTL.210.

ORO.FTL.110 Operator responsibilities

Regulation (EU) No 83/2014

An operator shall:

(a) publish duty rosters sufficiently in advance to provide the opportunity for crew members to plan adequate rest;

(b) ensure that flight duty periods are planned in a way that enables crew members to remain sufficiently free from fatigue so that they can operate to a satisfactory level of safety under all circumstances;

(c) specify reporting times that allow sufficient time for ground duties;

(d) take into account the relationship between the frequency and pattern of flight duty periods and rest periods and give consideration to the cumulative effects of undertaking long duty hours combined with minimum rest periods;

(e) allocate duty patterns which avoid practices that cause a serious disruption of an established sleep/work pattern, such as alternating day/night duties;

(f) comply with the provisions concerning disruptive schedules in accordance with ARO.OPS.230;

(g) provide rest periods of sufficient time to enable crew members to overcome the effects of the previous duties and to be rested by the start of the following flight duty period;

(h) plan recurrent extended recovery rest periods and notify crew members sufficiently in advance;

(i) plan flight duties in order to be completed within the allowable flight duty period taking into account the time necessary for pre-flight duties, the sector and turnaround times;

(j) change a schedule and/or crew arrangements if the actual operation exceeds the maximum flight duty period on more than 33% of the flight duties in that schedule during a scheduled seasonal period.

AMC1 ORO.FTL.110 Operator responsibilities

ED Decision 2014/017/R

SCHEDULING

(a) Scheduling has an important impact on a crew member’s ability to sleep and to maintain a proper level of alertness. When developing a workable roster, the operator should strike a fair balance between the commercial needs and the capacity of individual crew members to work effectively. Rosters should be developed in such a way that they distribute the amount of work evenly among those that are involved.

(b) Schedules should allow for flights to be completed within the maximum permitted flight duty period and flight rosters should take into account the time needed for pre-flight duties, taxiing, the flight- and turnaround times. Other factors to be considered when planning duty periods should include:

(1) the allocation of work patterns which avoid undesirable practices such as alternating day/night duties, alternating eastward-westward or westward-eastward time zone transitions, positioning of crew members so that a serious disruption of established sleep/work patterns occurs;

(2) scheduling sufficient rest periods especially after long flights crossing many time zones; and

(3) preparation of duty rosters sufficiently in advance with planning of recurrent extended recovery rest periods and notification of the crew members well in advance to plan adequate pre-duty rest.

PUBLICATION OF ROSTERS

Rosters should be published 14 days in advance.

OPERATIONAL ROBUSTNESS OF ROSTERS

The operator should establish and monitor performance indicators for operational robustness of rosters.

OPERATIONAL ROBUSTNESS OF ROSTERS

Performance indicators for operational robustness of rosters should support the operator in the assessment of the stability of its rostering system. Performance indicators for operational robustness of rosters should at least measure how often a rostered crew pairing for a duty period is achieved within the planned duration of that duty period. Crew pairing means rostered positioning and flights for crew members in one duty period.

ORO.FTL.115 Crew member responsibilities

Regulation (EU) No 83/2014

Crew members shall:

(a) comply with point CAT.GEN.MPA.100(b) of Annex IV (Part-CAT); and

(b) make optimum use of the opportunities and facilities for rest provided and plan and use their rest periods properly.

ORO.FTL.120 Fatigue risk management (FRM)

Regulation (EU) No 83/2014

(a) When FRM is required by this Subpart or an applicable certification specification, the operator shall establish, implement and maintain a FRM as an integral part of its management system. The FRM shall ensure compliance with the essential requirements in points 7.f., 7.g. and 8.f. of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008. The FRM shall be described in the operations manual.

(b) The FRM established, implemented and maintained shall provide for continuous improvement to the overall performance of the FRM and shall include:

(1) a description of the philosophy and principles of the operator with regard to FRM, referred to as the FRM policy;

(2) documentation of the FRM processes, including a process for making personnel aware of their responsibilities and the procedure for amending this documentation;

(3) scientific principles and knowledge;

(4) a hazard identification and risk assessment process that allows managing the operational risk(s) of the operator arising from crew member fatigue on a continuous basis;

(5) a risk mitigation process that provides for remedial actions to be implemented promptly, which are necessary to effectively mitigate the operator’s risk(s) arising from crew member fatigue and for continuous monitoring and regular assessment of the mitigation of fatigue risks achieved by such actions;

(6) FRM safety assurance processes;

(7) FRM promotion processes.

(c) The FRM shall correspond to the flight time specification scheme, the size of the operator and the nature and complexity of its activities, taking into account the hazards and associated risks inherent in those activities and the applicable flight time specification scheme.

(d) The operator shall take mitigating actions when the FRM safety assurance process shows that the required safety performance is not maintained.

ICAO DOC 9966 — MANUAL FOR THE OVERSIGHT OF FATIGUE MANAGEMENT APPROACHES

Further guidance on FRM processes, appropriate fatigue management, the underlying scientific principles and operational knowledge may be found in ICAO Doc 9966 (Manual for the Oversight of Fatigue Management Approaches).

CAT OPERATORS FRM POLICY

(a) The operator’s FRM policy should identify all the elements of FRM.

(b) The FRM policy should define to which operations FRM applies.

(c) The FRM policy should:

(1) reflect the shared responsibility of management, flight and cabin crew, and other involved personnel;

(2) state the safety objectives of FRM;

(3) be signed by the accountable manager;

(4) be communicated, with visible endorsement, to all the relevant areas and levels of the organisation;

(5) declare management commitment to effective safety reporting;

(6) declare management commitment to the provision of adequate resources for FRM;

(7) declare management commitment to continuous improvement of FRM;

(8) require that clear lines of accountability for management, flight and cabin crew, and all other involved personnel are identified; and

(9) require periodic reviews to ensure it remains relevant and appropriate.

CAT OPERATORS FRM DOCUMENTATION

The operator should develop and keep current FRM documentation that describes and records:

(1) FRM policy and objectives;

(2) FRM processes and procedures;

(3) accountabilities, responsibilities and authorities for these processes and procedures;

(4) mechanisms for on-going involvement of management, flight and cabin crew members, and all other involved personnel;

(5) FRM training programmes, training requirements and attendance records;

(6) scheduled and actual flight times, duty periods and rest periods with deviations and reasons for deviations; and

(7) FRM outputs including findings from collected data, recommendations, and actions taken.

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

‘Scientific method’ is defined as ‘a method or procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses’.

A scientific study may be required as an element of proactive fatigue hazard identification. Such a study should be based on scientific principles, i.e. use the scientific method. That means that the study should consist of the following elements as applicable to each individual case:

(a) an introduction with a summary and the description of the study design, methods and results;

(b) a statement of the hypothesis being tested, how it is being tested and a conclusion as to whether the hypothesis was found to be true or not;

(c) a description of the data collection method and tools, e.g. the sensitivity of the activity monitors, further information on any model and its limitations and how it is being used as part of the study;

(d) a description of how the study subjects were selected and how representative of the crew member population the study group is;

(e) a description of the rosters the study participants have worked containing data such as e.g. flight and duty hours, number of sectors, duty start/finish times;

(f) reports on mean sleep duration and efficiency and data for other standard measures (e.g. sleep timing, self-rated sleepiness/fatigue, sources of sleep disruption, performance, safety);

(g) a description of how sleep and the other measures varied across the roster (i.e. day-to-day) and where and why minimum sleep occurred;

(h) statistical data analysis to test the hypothesis; and

(i) the explanation of how the study results have been used to influence the design of the roster or other fatigue mitigations.

CAT OPERATORS IDENTIFICATION OF HAZARDS

The operator should develop and maintain three documented processes for fatigue hazard identification:

(a) Predictive

The predictive process should identify fatigue hazards by examining crew scheduling and taking into account factors known to affect sleep and fatigue and their effects on performance. Methods of examination may include, but are not limited to:

(1) operator or industry operational experience and data collected on similar types of operations;

(2) evidence-based scheduling practices; and

(3) bio-mathematical models.

(b) Proactive

The proactive process should identify fatigue hazards within current flight operations. Methods of examination may include, but are not limited to:

(1) self-reporting of fatigue risks;

(2) crew fatigue surveys;

(3) relevant flight and cabin crew performance data;

(4) available safety databases and scientific studies; and

(5) analysis of planned versus actual time worked.

(c) Reactive

The reactive process should identify the contribution of fatigue hazards to reports and events associated with potential negative safety consequences in order to determine how the impact of fatigue could have been minimised. At a minimum, the process may be triggered by any of the following:

(1) fatigue reports;

(2) confidential reports;

(3) audit reports;

(4) incidents; or

(5) flight data monitoring (FDM) events.

CAT OPERATORS RISK ASSESSMENT

An operator should develop and implement risk assessment procedures that determine the probability and potential severity of fatigue-related events and identify when the associated risks require mitigation. The risk assessment procedures should review identified hazards and link them to:

(a) operational processes;

(b) their probability;

(c) possible consequences; and

(d) the effectiveness of existing safety barriers and controls.

CAT OPERATORS RISK MITIGATION

An operator should develop and implement risk mitigation procedures that:

(a) select the appropriate mitigation strategies;

(b) implement the mitigation strategies; and

(c) monitor the strategies’ implementation and effectiveness.

CAT OPERATORS FRM SAFETY ASSURANCE PROCESSES

The operator should develop and maintain FRM safety assurance processes to:

(a) provide for continuous FRM performance monitoring, analysis of trends, and measurement to validate the effectiveness of the fatigue safety risk controls. The sources of data may include, but are not limited to:

(1) hazard reporting and investigations;

(2) audits and surveys; and

(3) reviews and fatigue studies;

(b) provide a formal process for the management of change which should include, but is not limited to:

(1) identification of changes in the operational environment that may affect FRM;

(2) identification of changes within the organisation that may affect FRM; and

(3) consideration of available tools which could be used to maintain or improve FRM performance prior to implementing changes; and

(c) provide for the continuous improvement of FRM. This should include, but is not limited to:

(1) the elimination and/or modification of risk controls have had unintended consequences or that are no longer needed due to changes in the operational or organisational environment;

(2) routine evaluations of facilities, equipment, documentation and procedures; and

(3) the determination of the need to introduce new processes and procedures to mitigate emerging fatigue-related risks.

CAT OPERATORS FRM PROMOTION PROCESS

FRM promotion processes should support the on-going development of FRM, the continuous improvement of its overall performance, and attainment of optimum safety levels.

The following should be established and implemented by the operator as part of its FRM:

(a) training programmes to ensure competency commensurate with the roles and responsibilities of management, flight and cabin crew , and all other involved personnel under the planned FRM; and

(b) an effective FRM communication plan that:

(1) explains FRM policies, procedures and responsibilities to all relevant stakeholders; and

(2) describes communication channels used to gather and disseminate FRM-related information.

ORO.FTL.125 Flight time specification schemes

Regulation (EU) No 83/2014

(a) Operators shall establish, implement and maintain flight time specification schemes that are appropriate for the type(s) of operation performed and that comply with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008, this Subpart and other applicable legislation, including Directive 2000/79/EC.

(b) Before being implemented, flight time specification schemes, including any related FRM where required, shall be approved by the competent authority.

(c) To demonstrate compliance with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and this Subpart, the operator shall apply the applicable certification specifications adopted by the Agency. Alternatively, if the operator wants to deviate from those certification specifications in accordance with Article 22(2) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008, it shall provide the competent authority with a full description of the intended deviation prior to implementing it. The description shall include any revisions to manuals or procedures that may be relevant, as well as an assessment demonstrating that the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and of this Subpart are met.

(d) For the purpose of point ARO.OPS.235(d), within 2 years of the implementation of a deviation or derogation, the operator shall collect data concerning the granted deviation or derogation and analyse that data using scientific principles with a view to assessing the effects of the deviation or derogation on aircrew fatigue. Such analysis shall be provided in the form of a report to the competent authority.