Canadian Aviation Regulations (SOR/96-433)

[700.53 to 700.59 reserved]

Maximum Flight Duty Period — Augmented Flight Crew and Rest Facilities

• 700.60 (1) Despite section 700.28, if the air operator assigns for a flight the number of additional flight crew members set out in column 2 of the table to this subsection and provides, for each additional member, the corresponding rest facility set out in column 3, the maximum flight duty period is the period set out in column 1.

  	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
  Item	Maximum Flight Duty Period (Hours)	Additional Flight Crew Members	Rest Facility
  1	14	1	class 3
  2	15	1	class 1 or class 2
  3	15.25	2	class 3
  4	16.50	2	class 2
  5	18	2	class 1

• (2) The maximum flight duty period set out in subsection (1) applies only to a flight duty period during which there are three or fewer flights if

  • (a) for a flight duty period during which there is one flight, all flight crew members are provided with in-flight rest in a rest facility; and

  • (b) for a flight duty period during which there are two or three flights,

    • (i) the flight crew member who will be at the controls for the final landing is provided with two consecutive hours of in-flight rest in a rest facility; and

    • (ii) all other flight crew members are provided with 90 consecutive minutes of in-flight rest in a rest facility.

• (3) A flight crew member’s flight duty period shall include all of the time spent in the rest facility.

• (4) The flight duty period for all flight crew members shall begin and end at the same location. However, for a period during which there is more than one flight and the first flight is scheduled to be less than 105 minutes long, an air operator may assign additional flight crew members to join a flight after the first flight, but all flight crew members shall end their flight duty period at the same location.

• (5) At least one additional flight crew member shall be on the flight deck during all take-offs and landings, other than for the first flight, if additional flight crew members join the flight after the first flight in the case referred to in subsection (4).

• (6) In-flight rest shall occur between the time at which the aircraft reaches 3 048 m (10,000 feet) above aerodrome elevation and 15 minutes before the scheduled beginning of the descent.

• (7) If a flight duty period has been extended, an air operator shall provide each flight crew member with a rest period that is the longer of

  • (a) the duration of the duty period just completed, and

  • (b) 14 hours in suitable accommodation, or 16 hours when the member’s duty period ends at home base.

Long-range Flights

700.61 An air operator shall not assign a flight duty period to a flight crew member, and a flight crew member shall not accept such an assignment, if the flight duty period occurs within the member’s window of circadian low and includes a flight that follows a scheduled flight of more than seven hours.

Ultra Long-range Flights

• 700.62 (1) An air operator shall not assign a flight duty period of more than 18 hours to a flight crew member and a member shall not accept such an assignment.

• (2) An air operator shall not assign a flight crew member to a flight with a scheduled flight time of more than 16 hours, and a member shall not accept such an assignment.

Unforeseen Operational Circumstances — Flight Duty Period and Rest Period

• 700.63 (1) If the pilot-in-command is of the opinion that an unforeseen operational circumstance that occurs within 60 minutes of the beginning of the flight duty period could lead to a level of fatigue that may adversely affect the safety of the flight, the pilot-in-command may, after consulting with all crew members on their level of fatigue,

  • (a) reduce a flight crew member’s flight duty period;

  • (b) extend a flight crew member’s flight duty period by the following number of hours in excess of the maximum flight duty period set out in section 700.28 or subsection 700.60(1) by

    • (i) one hour for a single-pilot operation,

    • (ii) two hours, if the flight crew is not augmented,

    • (iii) three hours, if the flight crew is augmented and there is one flight during the scheduled flight duty period, and

    • (iv) two hours, if the flight crew is augmented and there are two or three flights during the scheduled flight duty period; or

  • (c) extend a flight crew member’s rest period.

• (2) If a further unforeseen operational circumstance arises after take-off on the final flight for which the maximum flight duty period was extended under subsection (1), the pilot-in-command may, despite that subsection, continue the flight to the destination aerodrome or to an alternate aerodrome.

• (3) An air operator shall extend the rest period after a flight duty period is extended under this section by an amount of time that is at least equal to the extension of the flight duty period.

• (4) At the end of a flight duty period, the pilot-in-command shall notify the air operator of any change to a flight duty period made under this section.

Unforeseen Operational Circumstances — Split Flight Duty

• 700.64 (1) In the event of an unforeseen operational circumstance that occurs after the beginning of the flight duty period, an air operator may change a flight crew member’s flight duty period to include a split flight duty in accordance with section 700.50 if the pilot-in-command agrees and the change is made before the scheduled break on the ground.

• (2) The pilot-in-command shall not agree to the change if they are of the opinion, after consulting with all other crew members, that a split flight duty period could lead to a level of fatigue that may adversely affect the safety of the flight.

[700.65 to 700.69 reserved]

Flight Crew Member on Reserve

• 700.70 (1) An air operator shall notify a flight crew member on reserve of the start and end times of the reserve availability period and the location where it will take place no later than

  • (a) 12 hours before the start time of the reserve availability period, if no part of that period falls during the member’s window of circadian low; or

  • (b) 32 hours before the start time of the reserve availability period, if any part of that period falls during the member’s window of circadian low.

• (2) An air operator shall not change the start time of a reserve availability period of a flight crew member by

  • (a) more than two hours before, or four hours after, the start time that was communicated to the flight crew member under subsection (1); or

  • (b) more than eight hours before or after the start time that was communicated to the member under subsection (1) in any period of 168 consecutive hours, unless the member is provided with two consecutive days free from duty within that period.

• (3) If the start time of a reserve availability period is changed to a time after 02:00, the air operator shall not assign another reserve availability period to the flight crew member unless the member is provided with two consecutive days free from duty before the start time of that period.

• (4) An air operator shall not change the start time of a reserve availability period so that it falls in a flight crew member’s window of circadian low unless the air operator notifies the member of the change at least 24 hours before the revised start time.

• (5) An air operator shall not assign to a flight crew member a reserve availability period that exceeds 14 consecutive hours.

• (6) An air operator shall provide a flight crew member with a rest period of at least 10 consecutive hours between reserve availability periods.

• (7) An air operator shall not assign to a flight crew member a reserve duty period that exceeds

  • (a) 18 consecutive hours, if the period begins between 02:00 and 17:59;

  • (b) 17 consecutive hours, if the period begins between 18:00 and 18:59;

  • (c) 16 consecutive hours, if the period begins between 19:00 and 20:59;

  • (d) 15 consecutive hours, if the period begins between 21:00 and 22:59; and

  • (e) 14 consecutive hours, if the period begins between 23:00 and 01:59.

• (8) Despite subsection (7), an air operator may assign to a flight crew member a reserve duty period of

  • (a) no more than 20 hours, if the flight crew is augmented by one additional flight crew member and a class 1 rest facility or a class 2 rest facility is provided for the member;

  • (b) no more than 22 hours, when the reserve availability period begins between 21:00 and 03:00 at the location where the flight crew member is acclimatized, if the flight crew is augmented by two additional flight crew members and a class 1 rest facility or a class 2 rest facility is provided for each of the members; or

  • (c) no more than 26 hours, when the reserve availability period begins before 21:00 or after 03:00 at the location where the flight crew member is acclimatized, if the flight crew is augmented by two additional flight crew members and a class 1 rest facility is provided for each of the members.

• (9) If the reserve availability period begins between 02:00 and 05:59 at the location where the flight crew member is acclimatized and the member is not contacted by the air operator during that period, the air operator may extend the reserve duty period by two hours or 50% of the reserve availability period that falls between 02:00 and 05:59, whichever is shorter.

• (10) An air operator shall not assign to a flight crew member a flight duty period that exceeds the maximum reserve duty period set out in subsection (7) or (8) or the maximum flight duty period set out in section 700.28, whichever is shorter, unless the air operator

  • (a) provides the member with at least 24 hours’ notice of the assignment before the beginning of the flight duty period;

  • (b) does not provide the notice during the period that begins at 22:30 and ends at 7:30; and

  • (c) assigns no duties to the member between the time the notice is provided and the beginning of the flight duty period.

Flight Crew Member on Standby

• 700.71 (1) The air operator shall provide a flight crew member on standby with a place that provides adequate protection from the elements, where it is possible to sit and to access food and drink and, if possible, that is not accessible to the public.

• (2) If the flight crew member on standby is not assigned to flight duty, the air operator shall provide them with the following rest periods:

  • (a) if the member is at home base,

    • (i) 12 hours, or 11 hours plus the travel time to or from the member’s lodging, or

    • (ii) if the air operator provides suitable accommodation, 10 hours in that suitable accommodation; or

  • (b) if the member is away from home base, 10 hours.

Controlled Rest on Flight Deck

• 700.72 (1) A flight crew member shall not take a controlled rest on the flight deck of an aircraft that is operated by an air operator unless

  • (a) the rest is 45 minutes or less, is taken during the cruise portion of the flight and is completed at least 30 minutes before the scheduled beginning of the descent;

  • (b) no other flight crew member is taking a rest at that time; and

  • (c) at least two flight crew members remain on the flight deck.

• (2) Before taking a controlled rest on the flight deck, a flight crew member shall

  • (a) transfer their duties to a flight crew member who is not taking a rest;

  • (b) review the status of the flight, including any specific duties to be performed during the rest;

  • (c) review the wake-up criteria; and

  • (d) advise the flight attendants of the start and end times of the rest.

• (3) A flight crew member who takes a controlled rest on the flight deck shall not assume any duties, and no other flight crew member shall transfer any duties to them, until 15 minutes after the end of the rest.

• (4) When a flight crew member returns to duty, another flight crew member shall provide them with an operational briefing.