I’m sure this will have been touched on before but the search does not produce the result I’m looking for, so here goes:

Can anyone shed light on when a flight duty period starts, in terms of where you report? For example is it at Crew check in? Is it at the bag drop for the flight which just happens to be before security, thus taking about 30 mins before crew check in? Is it at the staff car park, etc etc?

Seem to remember a statement of ‘when you first carry out a duty required for the trip’, or words to that effect. Which could be argued staff car park, and certainly bag drop.

Have EASA provided an answer to this somewhere, or as usual, is this flight safety critical issue, along with much in the FTL section, open to interpretation?!

Also, the staff car park used to be a five minute walk, it’s now 30 mins on a bus. I haven’t moved house but my fatigue caused by issues like this, is steadily increasing!

Unfortunately for us crew it is not defined.

some have it on entering the crew room. Some have it car park some have it from arriving at the queue for security if your crew room is airside. It just hasn’t been officially defined by the regulator so it’s up to the operator and their unions to come to an agreement.

I’m pretty certain in the not too distant future with electronic flight logs and briefings etc it’ll become on entering the aircraft unless we fight it

Unfortunately, good old OMA is conveniently sparse of information, hence the search for an EASA definition. I’ve found a link to FTL questions to the CAA, so I’ll try that and report if any success.

Depending where the crew room is, you may already be airside through security. Or you may have that 30 mins balls ache to go through, so either way, your level of tiredness/fatigue will vary.

Good that they are happy to leave this area nicely in the grey! Shows that they don’t give a monkey’s about flight safety if there’s a cost to it!

Any old small thing it is then.

Hey Twiglet, this issue wasn’t an issue for me until EASA got involved increasing flight duty periods, such that fatigue is now an issue, thanks to Airlines exploiting the new crazy work practices. Dumbing down safe operating practices while the US were becoming more concerned with the same issue, (crazy commuting), thanks to Capt Sully’s efforts. Did you ask your MEP to vote against them? Did the CAA campaign against them?

The new EASA regs are less safe, and Companies are happy not to define things and keep everything woolly, it’s down to money. The reason for this post was to try and find a straightforward definition, the fact that appears not to be one, should ring alarm bells for everyone, not that it’s about 30 mins, (or an hour.)

If legislation was introduced to mandate a maximum commute period, people and Companies may ignore them, that’s up to them. Again, the fact that there isn’t speaks volumes. ANO states you must be fit for duty, yet I have heard of duties where tiredness leads to sleeping crews being intercepted. Without us getting on with the job sometimes, certain schedules would never take place. On these tough rotations, every moments rest is vital, as clearly not everyone falls asleep. So perhaps that extra 30 mins or an hour becomes more important. I’m a little surprised you think it’s nifty naff and trivia, suspect you don’t get tired much, you must be a real Company man!

Oh and your other point about 2 man crew running out of duty so Operator goes for cheap European X option......
Well hopefully that would be against employment law, but it won’t stop them doing it......
So once again, nowt to do with safety....just money.