FAA Proposes to Give Airlines Flexibility in Staffing Flights During Passenger Boarding and Deplaning
 
February 24, 2009
 
Sophy Chen - Washington

On January 21, 2009, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM),¹ relating to crewmember requirements during passenger boarding and deplaning. The proposed rule would increase an airline’s flexibility to use flight attendants for safety-related duties off the airplane during these periods while preserving the availability of flight attendants to assist passengers during an emergency evacuation.

Currently, domestic airlines operating under Part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR, or Title 14, C.F.R.) must have all flight attendants on board the airplane during passenger boarding and deplaning.² The NPRM seeks to change the crewmember requirements: (1) to permit airlines to let one required flight attendant leave the plane during passenger boarding to conduct safety-related duties; and (2) to permit airlines to reduce the number of flight attendants on board during passenger deplaning. According to the NPRM, safety improvements in aircraft equipment and operational procedures have reduced the (mostly fire-related) risks to passengers during ground operations, so that the requirement to have all flight attendants on board during passenger boarding and deplaning is no longer necessary. The FAA will accept comments on the NPRM until April 21, 2009.

Over the past 20 years, the FAA has considered this issue several times. As recently as 2001, the FAA affirmed that the FAR requires all flight attendants required by FAR 121.391 to be on board the airplane during passenger boarding and deplaning. But, in 2006, Southwest Airlines petitioned for an exemption that would allow it to substitute a pilot for a required flight attendant during passenger boarding at an intermediate stop (i.e., a stop where passengers remain on board). The FAA granted this exemption in 2007, and three additional airlines have received similar exemptions since then.

Now, in light of improvements that have reduced the hazards to passengers during ground operations, the FAA is revisiting the requirement to have all flight attendants on board during these times. These improvements include changes to the aircraft certification regulations such as requiring lavatory smoke detectors and better fire extinguishers, improving cabin interior flammability standards, raising thermal insulation standards to reduce the risk of fire in inaccessible parts of the plane and improving passenger access to airplane exits. In addition, the FAA has revised operations regulations in ways that have reduced flight attendant workloads and improved passengers’ ability to evacuate the aircraft without assistance from crewmembers. Finally, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security regulations have further reduced the risk of security-related threats during boarding and deplaning.

Number of Required Flight Attendants During Passenger Boarding

In combination, the factors discussed above have led the FAA to believe that the current level of safety during passenger boarding would be maintained in cases where one required flight attendant leaves the airplane to conduct safety-related duties so long as certain other conditions are met. First, the flight attendant must stay within 30 feet of the passenger entry door. This, for example, would permit the flight attendant to use the telephone on the passenger loading bridge and to conduct other safety-related duties such as removing excess or oversized baggage and placing it in an appropriate place near the airplane. Second, the flight attendant must be conducting safety-related duties for the flight being boarded. The flight attendant may not perform non-safety-related duties such as personal business. And third, the airplane must be one that requires two or more flight attendants (pursuant to FAR 121.391(a)). This means that the proposed rule would not apply to airplanes with less than 50 passenger seats because at least one flight attendant must remain on the airplane at all times.

Substitution of Qualified Crewmember for a Required Flight Attendant During Passenger Boarding

In cases where the flight attendant does not remain within 30 feet of the passenger entry door, the FAA would permit an airline to substitute a flightcrew member for the flight attendant during passenger boarding so long as certain conditions are met. These conditions are:

• The airline’s manual must describe (1) the duties to be performed by the substitute crewmember and remaining flight attendants in an emergency or evacuation and (2) how other duties performed by the flight attendant will be accomplished by the substitute crewmember and remaining flight attendants.
• The substitute crewmember must trained in all assigned flight attendant duties, have all items required for duty and be located in the passenger cabin. Also, the airline must identify the substitute crewmember to the passengers.
  A substitute flightcrew member is “on duty” while performing any passenger boarding duties. Time spent performing these duties, therefore, count toward duty-time limitations in the FAR.

Number of Required Flight Attendants During Passenger Deplaning

The NPRM proposes to reduce the number of flight attendants required during passenger deplaning to one-half the number required by FAR 121.393(a), rounded down to the next lower number, but never fewer than one. This would allow flight attendants to conduct other safety-related duties such as maintaining custody of an unaccompanied minor or making contact with local law enforcement officers to assist with an unruly passenger.
The FAA has reasoned that, at the time of deplaning, flight attendants have briefed passengers about the emergency evacuation procedures and verified the suitability of the exit row passengers. As a result, deplaning passengers are better prepared to evacuate than boarding passengers and typically are already departing the aircraft by means of pre-positioned loading bridges or stairs. Thus, their risk in the event of an emergency or possible evacuation is considerably lower.

Additional Requirements During Passenger Boarding and Deplaning

The NPRM would impose additional requirements on any airline that seeks to take advantage of the reduction or substitution provisions. First, the airline must ensure that the airplane is stationary and in a level attitude with at least one floor-level exit open, and that the engines are shut down. If these conditions are not met, the airline may not reduce the number of flight attendants below the requirements of FAR 121.391(a).

Finally, the flight attendants remaining on board the airplane must be evenly distributed near the floor-level exits so they are readily available to assist effectively with any emergency evacuation.

For more information, contact:

Sophy Chen
202.862.5983
sophy.chen@hklaw.com

toll free: 1.888.688.8500

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1 74 Fed. Reg. 3469.

2 FAR 121.393, however, permits an airline to reduce the number of required flight attendants at intermediate stops when passengers are on board but the engines are shut down and at least one floor-level exit is open. Pursuant to FAR 121.393, an airline may reduce the number of flight attendants by half the number required by § 121.391(a), rounded down to the next lowest number, so long as at least one flight attendant remains on board.

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