The FAA's 10-Hour Flight Attendant Rest Rule Actually Means 8 Hours At The Hotel

Published Aug 8, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT Daniel comes to Simple Flying with a business focused approach to the aviation world. Daniel enjoys analyzing strategy and how companies move against each other to gain a step ahead in the skies. Besides strategy, Daniel also has a passion for aircraft design and the history of aviation. Based in New York Being a flight attendant is far from a glamorous job. Working on planes all day can be physically exhausting, and flight attendants are often scheduled on multi-day trips away from home, while pay rates are not that high compared to other airline employees. In addition to performing service roles onboard, cabin crew members also serve in a vital safety role, with regulators mandating that airlines staff flights with a minimum number of flight attendants to maintain safety. Because of how crucial flight attendants are, regulators outline strict requirements for rest, and in the US, the FAA instituted a new regulation effective in 2023 mandating ten hours of consecutive rest in between 14-hour duty periods. This change was championed for years by flight attendant unions, since it improved the prior nine-hour regulation, which could be compressed to eight hours. However, the current regulation is more nuanced than simply offering ten hours of alone time. Current FAA Rest Regulations For Cabin Crew Credit: Shutterstock The FAA currently requires US-based flight attendants to receive a minimum of ten consecutive hours of rest in between duty periods of 14 hours or less, and this time is non-reducible. This law was first introduced in 2018, but then faced significant delays and wasn't finalized until 2022, taking effect in 2023. Airlines were given 90 days to revise scheduling practices after the regulation was finalized, and it was heralded as a major win for flight attendants to reduce the impact of fatigue. Some airlines were ahead of the curve; Alaska Airlines implemented a ten-hour rest period for cabin crew in 2020, and Southwest implemented it before the rule was effective. But while it's technically a rest regulation, it is really used to regulate how airlines build and schedule trips for flight attendants, since it directly affects layover times between flights, and the increase in scheduled times had a major impact on how US airlines can schedule their cabin crew. Before, the FAA required airlines to offer flight attendants nine consecutive hours of rest, but this could be lowered to eight hours if the next rest period was at least ten hours. In practice, many layovers have been and remain longer than the minimum, particularly on long-haul trips where airlines only operate one or two flights per day, but carriers have regularly scheduled rest periods on short-haul trips to the minimum, and the new regulation gives cabin crew two extra hours of rest in some cases. What Ten Hours Of Rest Really Means Credit: Shutterstock The FAA requires ten hours between when flight attendants are released from duty and when they have to report the next day. However, flight attendants still need to get from the aircraft to the crew van, and then they need to be transported to the hotel. The next morning, they also need to be transferred back to the airport. With the travel time in mind, flight attendants may only get eight hours at the hotel, and cabin crew members may get even less time to sleep depending on how long check-in and check-out take. Although it's still an improvement compared to the prior regulations (especially because the time is non-reducible), it can still be physically tiring after a 14-hour duty day. While flight attendants on long-haul flights often have much longer layovers, this can be extremely fatiguing for cabin crew members on short-haul trips, who are often scheduled with layovers near the minimum. As a result, some flight attendant unions have advocated for greater rest requirements than those stipulated by the FAA. US Airline Flight Attendant Union Alaska Airlines Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) American Airlines Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) Delta Air Lines Non-unionized JetBlue Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) Southwest Airlines Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) United Airlines Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) chapter representing United Airlines cabin crew has included stipulations in the latest contract that only permit the carrier to schedule a ten-hour layover if the hotel is within a 15-minute drive of the airport. If the hotel is more than 15 minutes away, then the layover must be at least 11 hours. Flight attendants must have at least eight hours at the hotel as well. These requirements apply only to domestic trips, with international trips requiring longer rest periods. Adapting To New Regulations Credit: Shutterstock Airlines did not experience operational disruptions from the new regulations because they had time to rebuild and adjust their scheduling practices. This requirement had been in discussions for years before it was finalized, and so airlines were prepared. This was crucial because the regulation had suddenly made prior trip pairings potentially illegal, which not only impacted crew but also could require slight adjustments to flight schedules in some cases to ensure compliance with regulations. Many airlines already had union-negotiated contracts in place that were largely in compliance with the new regulations. Even Delta Air Lines, which does not have a unionized flight attendant workforce, implemented a ten-hour rest period in early 2020, while regional airlines like SkyWest Airlines and PSA Airlines, which had been suffering from staffing shortages even at the time, also made sure to implement the practice change early to eliminate the risk of operational disruptions when it went into effect in 2023. The scheduling impact was not significant because it simply extended the layover rather than dramatically changing duty time regulations, which would have a much larger effect. Where this truly mattered to airlines was on layovers that were close to the minimums, which required airlines to adjust the scheduling, but these layovers were becoming increasingly rare. For flight attendants, while it was a win for the regulation to be passed, it's new labor agreements that have arguably had the bigger impact. The Labor Fight Behind The Rule Credit: Shutterstock Flight attendants' unions had been calling for increased rest rules for years before it was actually implemented. A 14-hour duty period is a long day, far longer than what most people put in at the office, and flight attendants also don't get paid for a significant portion of this time. This is particularly true on short-haul trips, which include multiple segments that add unpaid time on the ground. With long duty periods and short rest periods, this can create a significant risk of fatigue. While many see cabin crew as performing a service role, they also play a significant role in the safety of the flight. It's their duty to help passengers evacuate in the event of an emergency, including by guiding the passengers and operating the emergency exits. It's also their responsibility to ensure that specific exits are safe to use, and in normal operations, flight attendants also ensure that passengers are wearing their seatbelts while also ensuring the security of the flight. Fatigue can significantly compromise a flight attendant's ability to perform crucial safety functions, and, notably, flight attendant rest requirements were previously lower than those for pilots. The current 10-hour requirement matches what pilots are entitled to, and now helps protect against possible fatigue that a cabin crew member may experience from their 14-hour workday. This is even more true for the more generous requirements outlined in certain airline labor contracts. How This Compares To Pilot Scheduling Credit: Shutterstock Pilots and flight attendants are scheduled very similarly. As previously mentioned, both are now entitled to the same 10 hours of uninterrupted rest, with pilots required to sleep for eight hours before the next duty period starts. In addition, both groups include 'lines' (set schedules for the month) and reserve schedules, which essentially have the pilot/flight attendant on call for most of the month. However, maximum pilot duty times vary significantly depending on a number of factors. The maximum flight duty period for an unaugmented crew is 14 hours, but this is reduced if the crew's first departure is early in the morning or late at night, which has the potential to disrupt circadian rhythms. In addition, a higher number of flight segments during the day decreases the maximum flight duty period, while the maximum allowable flight time is lower still. In some cases, the maximum flight duty time can fall to as low as nine hours. In addition, pilots usually leave the aircraft before the passengers, whereas cabin crew have to wait. US Airline Number Of Pilots Number Of Flight Attendants Alaska Airlines 3,350 6,900 American Airlines 16,000 30,000 Delta Air Lines 17,281 30,000 JetBlue 4,687 Undisclosed Southwest Airlines 11,000 20,000 United Airlines 18,864 30,000 Because of the differences in flight duty regulations, as well as variances in scheduling practices, pilots and flight attendants don't always fly together. This is particularly common at larger airlines, where a set of pilots may find themselves working with multiple sets of flight attendants on a given day, because cabin crew can work more flights and may have longer trips. You'll also find pilots and flight attendants lodged in different hotels at larger carriers. Smaller airlines, however, may pair flight crews and cabin crews together more often, while also lodging them at the same hotel.