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US to require more rest between shifts for flight attendants

Airlines will be required to give flight attendants at least 10 hours off duty between shifts, one more hour than currently, under a rule announced Tuesday by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said that the extra hour of rest would contribute to safety.

Congress directed the FAA in 2018 to increase the rest requirement for flight attendants and eliminate a provision that let crews work with less rest under some circumstances.

“It took us way too long, but we are finally here,” Nolen said at a news conference.

The Association of Flight Attendants has fought for years to get the rest requirement expanded. The union’s president, Sara Nelson, accused the Trump administration of attempting to kill the expansion even after Congress had voted by large margins to require it.

The FAA took public comments on the extra rest requirement in both 2019 and 2021 and received more than 1,000 comments from airlines, flight attendants and the public.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., 2021