Originally Posted by
Chesty Morgan
So you can see that it is a restriction on the number of seats per cabin crew not the total number of passengers.
Yes, the quote in post #33 (from the ANO) makes that clear. It also implies than any exemption made would be on a per-flight basis.
If EZY (which I assume is the carrier in question) have managed to write a provision in their Ops Manual that allows them to fly with 3 cabin crew "in unforeseen circumstances" and report it via an ASR after the event, that would seem to be a fairly liberal interpretation of the regulation.
Having said that, if the practice didn't have tacit approval from the CAA, presumably EZY would have been pulled up by now.