FAA moves to block US states from setting their own airline crew rest rules

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is moving to stop US states and local governments from applying their own meal and rest-break laws to airline pilots and flight attendants after court rulings allowed California-based flight attendants to pursue claims against airlines under state labor law.

The FAA published a notice of proposed rulemaking on July 6, 2026, seeking to clarify that federal duty and rest rules for flightcrew members and flight attendants override state and local break requirements.

The issue centers on whether pilots and flight attendants can be covered by the same state labor laws that require other workers to receive meal or rest breaks at set intervals, or whether airline crew breaks should be governed only by federal aviation rules.

The FAA says airline crews are different from most other workers because they must remain available during a duty period to perform safety tasks, including while an aircraft is in flight.

Some state laws require workers to be relieved of all duties during a meal or rest break. The FAA says that standard cannot always apply to pilots and flight attendants, who may need to respond to emergencies, medical events, unruly passengers, evacuations or other safety issues.

The FAA “proposes to clarify that FAA regulations governing flightcrew member and flight attendant duty and rest periods preempt all State and local meal and rest break requirements,” the agency said in the proposed rule.

The FAA also said US state meal and rest-break requirements are preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 if they significantly affect airline prices, routes and services.

The proposed rule would amend Part 117, which covers flightcrew duty and rest limitations, and Part 121, which governs domestic, flag and supplemental airline operations.

The agency said recent litigation prompted it to review how its crew duty and rest regulations interact with state labor laws. The FAA cited cases involving Virgin America and SkyWest Airlines flight attendants as part of the background to the proposal.

In Bernstein v. Virgin America, California-based flight attendants sued Virgin America over alleged violations of California labor law, including meal-break and rest-break requirements. Virgin argued that the state break rules were preempted by federal aviation law and the Airline Deregulation Act, but the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected those arguments and upheld rulings in favor of the flight attendants on the break claims.

The FAA also cited Wilson v. SkyWest Airlines, a case brought by two California-based flight attendants who alleged that SkyWest failed to provide meal breaks, rest breaks and compliant wage statements under California law. A federal district court found that the break claims were not preempted by federal aviation law or the Airline Deregulation Act.

Those cases centered on whether California meal and rest-break rules could apply to flight attendants. California generally requires a 30-minute meal period when employees work more than five hours and a second meal period when employees work more than 10 hours.

The US Department of Labor lists 21 states or jurisdictions with meal-period requirements for adult private-sector workers. It lists seven states — California, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and Washington — as having both meal-period and rest-period requirements.

The FAA said applying different state requirements to airline crews could create operational problems for carriers.

The agency said airlines might have to carry additional crewmembers, block passenger seats, remove passengers from flights or alter service to comply with state break rules. The FAA said those changes could affect the price, route or service of air transportation.

The FAA said its proposal would not prevent airlines from allowing pilots and flight attendants to eat, drink or use the restroom during duty periods. Instead, the agency said airlines would remain responsible for managing those needs while keeping crewmembers available for safety duties.

The proposal also notes that some flight attendant breaks are already covered by collective bargaining agreements, airline policies or crew resource management procedures.

California amended its labor code in 2023 to exempt certain flight attendants from standard meal and rest-break requirements when they are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that addresses breaks. The FAA said not all airlines and flight attendants are covered by such agreements.

Comments on the proposed rule are due by September 4, 2026.The post FAA moves to block US states from setting their own airline crew rest rules appeared first on AeroTime.

Go to Source