Planning stage-Hours limits
 

Just a pub (Taverna) heated conversation settler please;

For UK, what is the planning limit, hours wise, for commercial flight. In my day, it used to be 12 hrs. That included one hour pre-flt planning and 30 minutes post flight activity. Captain had a three hour extention once on the road and use of each hour was progressively restricted.

Discussion arose when I chatted to a BA crew who nightstop in Larnaca and would never dream of even trying for a LHR-LCA-LHR turnround.

In my Company, one stuck to the rules and we didn't either. Another bent the rules and we did , er, bend and do the trurnround. My final glorious company stuck rigidly, ex Middle East & we wound up doing a fabbo LCA nigh-stop.

But, Pub (Taverna) Stirrer (!) claims his mate is a regular crew on Glsgow/Larnaca/Glasgow. I looked at the sked & it shows a 13hrs & 15 mins, PLANNED, duty day. Really? Is that allowed these days?

Quite a lot of drinks tanding on this one !

Duty limits are defined by a table in OMA and approved by the regulator. Actual figures depend on start time and number of sectors. Night or unacclimatised is typically 11 hours while a mid morning start would be 13 hours. Extension tables are also published which for an extra hour but they come with conditions such as extra rest, only 2 between extended recovery rest periods etc to dissuade their use. So up to 14 hours planned is legal. Plus discretion.

13.15 for a two sector FDP, with a reasonable start time, sounds about right though I no longer have access to company docs. Obvs in 'your day' you'd be working to CAA regs (Cap 371) whereas now it's EASA. In many ways EASA is less kind to crews but the use of discretion is much tighter and more limiting than the 'good old days'.

hth

Thanks. Might be reaching into my pocket over this one. Darned EASA and all that.
Another mate just questioned a hosty on the same sectors and she said that 16 hours was common but that it earned three days off so no-one complained. Gosh.