All Agree Standards Should Be The Same For Pax, Cargo Flights

The airline industry is expressing universal praise for the adoption of new crew rest rules by the FAA Wednesday, but also is unified in its stance that pilots of cargo flights should fall under the same rules as those with passengers aboard.

Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association President, Capt. Steve Chase, said, "While the pilots of Southwest Airlines are the most productive in the industry, we recognize the need for an update to rules that have been in place for the past 50 years.  However, SWAPA has made it clear throughout this process that we would only offer our support to a ruling that promotes the 'One Level of Safety' that the FAA originally mandated."

Most of the current rules have been in effect prior to 1960.  The increased capability of aircraft since that time has vastly changed pilots' working dynamic and environment.  The ruling includes an exemption for cargo carriers, such as UPS and FedEx, which would allow companies to force their pilots to continue to operate under the previous and outdated regulations.  These are the same regulations that triggered the FAA's mandate of "One Level of Safety."

"Cargo pilots are no less susceptible to fatigue than passenger pilots," Capt. Chase said. "Our crew members and the passengers they carry operate in the same airspace as cargo operators.  Bystanders on the ground are no less affected by an accident if an aircraft is carrying boxes rather than people.  It is our hope that lawmakers will reconsider the cargo carrier exemption and ensure that legislation meets the original intent of 'One Level of Safety.'"

“At first glance, it appears that some of the new flight- and duty-time rules represent a step forward in fatigue mitigation for commercial pilots,” said APA President Captain Dave Bates (pictured). “For example, we are encouraged by the provision for increased rest for pilots from the current eight-hour minimum rest period to 10 hours, which should help provide pilots with an opportunity to sleep a sufficient number of hours before flying.

“However, we strongly object to exempting cargo carriers from the new rules. A fatigued pilot is a fatigued pilot, whether their aircraft contains passengers or cargo,” he said. “Passenger and cargo carriers both operate high-performance jet aircraft in the same congested airspace.

“Safety is paramount in commercial aviation. When somebody makes a mistake in our industry, it can have serious consequences,” Bates said. “And when crewmembers are fatigued, they’re more likely to make mistakes.

“We therefore urge the FAA to reconsider the wisdom of a cargo carrier exemption.”

"Giving air cargo carriers the choice to opt-in to new pilot rest rules makes as much sense as allowing truckers to 'opt-out' of drunk driving laws," said Captain Robert Travis, President of the Independent Pilots Association, which represents UPS pilots.

"To potentially allow fatigued cargo pilots to share the same skies with properly rested passenger pilots creates an unnecessary threat to public safety. We can do better. Congress directed the FAA to create new science-based flight and duty rules to establish one level of aviation safety to protect the public. Today, under intense pressure from the cargo industry lobby, the FAA has failed to carry out this basic congressional mandate. At the same time we work to reverse the 'opt-in' provision we will ask UPS to voluntarily operate under these new science-based safety rules. UPS is a premier company and our expectation is that UPS will honor their longstanding pledge to operate the world's safest airline."

On Thursday, IPA filed a Petition for Review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in order to challenge FAA?s exclusion of cargo operations from the final flight and duty time rule. In its filing, IPA says it seeks to have cargo operations included in the scope of the rule because of the important safety benefits provided by the rule. IPA does not seek to delay implementation of these important safety benefits to passenger operations.

The document says that the "FAA generally acknowledges that “factors that lead to fatigue are universal” and that night-time operations (during pilots' circadian lows) and operations that cross multiple time zones warrant stricter measures to guard against fatigue. Cargo operations such as those conducted by UPS, involve these two fatigue-exacerbating factors to a greater extent than passenger operations, yet cargo operations will remain subject to the current rules that FAA says are inadequate to guard against pilot fatigue."

FMI: www.faa.gov, IPA Petition