Right now, cargo pilots are allowed to fly under older, looser duty and rest rules than passenger pilots, even though they often fly overnight, long-haul routes. This bill would force the Department of Transportation to extend the FAA's 2012 passenger-pilot duty and rest rule to cover all-cargo operations within 30 days. It also waives the standard notice-and-comment rulemaking process under section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act, meaning the change would happen without the usual public comment period. Cargo pilot unions have pushed for this fix for over a decade, calling the current cargo carve-out a fatigue-related safety gap.
Average Household Impact
- Cargo pilot fatigue rules — Passenger-flight duty and rest standards extended to all-cargo operations
Transparency & Accountability
- Notice-and-comment rulemaking — Section 553 public-comment process waived for this rule change
Congressional Summary
Safe Skies Act of 2026This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to expand specified duty and rest requirements to apply the requirements to all-cargo flight crew members.Currently, a DOT final rule on flight crew member duty and rest requirements only applies to flight crew members in passenger operations conducted by air carriers. Under the bill, DOT must modify this final rule so that the requirements also apply to all-cargo flight crew members.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2026-02-12
- Date Added
- 2026-04-27
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