Canadian Aviation Regulations · SOR/96-433
Rest Periods
Minimum rest after a flight duty period: 12 hours at home base (or 11 plus travel time, or 10 in suitable accommodation), 10 hours away from home base — and longer if duty ran well past the maximum FDP.
Applies to 703704705 · in force since December 12, 2020
A rest period is defined in CARs 101.01 as “the continuous period during which a flight crew member is off duty, excluding the travel time to or from suitable accommodation provided by a private operator or air operator.”
Minimum rest after a flight duty period
| Where the FDP ends | Minimum rest | CARs |
|---|---|---|
| Home base | 12 hours | 700.40(1)(a)(i) |
| Home base | 11 hours + the travel time to and from where the rest is taken | 700.40(1)(a)(i) |
| Home base | 10 hours, if the operator provides suitable accommodation | 700.40(1)(a)(ii) |
| Away from home base | 10 hours in suitable accommodation | 700.40(1)(b) |
At home base the operator chooses one of the three options. The “11 hours plus travel time” option means 11 hours at the place the rest is actually taken; the operator must have a real means of measuring that travel time — it has to reflect the time actually taken (700.40(3); AC 700-047 §§ 4.37, 4.39).
Extra rest after over-long duty
If the operator keeps you on duty — anything other than flight duty — for a period that runs 1 hour or more past the maximum FDP from section 700.28 (not counting positioning), your rest period becomes the longer of:
- the maximum FDP plus the time worked beyond it, and
- the normal rest period from the table above.
(700.40(2); AC 700-047 § 4.38.)
Example (AC 700-047 § 4.38). Your maximum FDP was 13 hours. After a 12-hour FDP the operator has you clean the aircraft for 2.5 hours — total duty 14.5 hours, which is more than 1 hour past the 13-hour maximum. Your required rest period is now 14.5 hours.
Operators should release flight crew from duty as soon as possible after the FDP ends.
Which increased-rest rule applies?
When a flight duty period is extended, one of several provisions — 700.40(2), 700.43, 700.60(7) or 700.63(3) — sets the rest that follows. This walks you to the right one (from AC 700-047, Appendix A):
Were the hours of work extended beyond the maximum flight duty period in section 700.28?
From Advisory Circular 700-047, Appendix A. A navigation aid — confirm the result against the regulation and your Operations Manual.
Notice
The operator must give you advance notice of your rest period and how long it is. Rest cannot be assigned after the fact (700.40(4); AC 700-047 § 4.40).
Related
- Maximum Flight Duty Period (700.28)
- Disruptive schedules (700.41) — extra rest when switching between early and late/night duty
- Maximum hours of work (700.29)
Regulation text — CARs 700.40
Reproduced from the consolidated Canadian Aviation Regulations ( SOR/96-433) on the Justice Laws website. CARs 700.40
700.40 (1) An air operator shall provide a flight crew member with the following rest periods at the end of a flight duty period:
- (a) if the flight duty period ends at home base,
- (i) either 12 hours, or 11 hours plus the travel time to and from the place where the rest period is taken, or
- (ii) if the air operator provides suitable accommodation, 10 hours in that suitable accommodation; and
- (b) if the flight duty period ends away from home base, 10 hours in suitable accommodation.
(2) If an air operator assigns a duty to a flight crew member for a period — excluding the time required for positioning — that exceeds by one hour or more the maximum flight duty period referred to in section 700.28, the rest period shall be the longer of
- (a) the maximum flight duty period plus the amount of time worked beyond the maximum flight duty period, and
- (b) the rest period referred to in subsection (1).
(3) An air operator shall have a means to determine the travel time referred to in subparagraph (1)(a)(i).
(4) An air operator shall provide a flight crew member with advance notice of the member’s rest period and its duration.
What changed in 2018
In plain language
The former rules set rest as a function of the preceding duty. Section 700.40 fixes minimum rest by where the flight duty period ends, adds the "11 hours plus travel time" home-base option, and requires extra rest when duty runs an hour or more past the maximum FDP.
Paraphrased from Advisory Circular 700-047 .