Airlines sue FAA over new crew rest rules.
BizJournals.Com

Seven U.S. airlines have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration, opposing new safety requirements aimed at tackling pilot fatigue on some international flights.


Among the airlines that have filed the suit are United Air Lines, US Airways, Continental Airlines and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines.

The suit challenges the legality and the safety benefits of the new rules for pilots of flights lasting 16 hours or longer. Airlines have become more reliant on such routes, but they are reluctant to incur increased labor costs by giving pilots a longer rest time between flights, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The lawsuit was filed Dec. 24 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Other airlines involved in the suit include Purchase, N.Y.-based Atlas Air Inc.; McMinnville, Ore.-based Evergreen International Airlines Inc.; and Forest Hills, N.Y.-based JetBlue Airways Corp.

Southwest Airlines, the No. 1 carrier at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, is not one of the plaintiffs in the suit.


http://www.airdisaster.com/news/article.php?id=38


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I find this unbelievable. The FAA is so often on the airlines' side to the detriment of passenger safety, and the airlines file a suit against them over this? Bizarre. Good to see the FAA take a stand. I hope the FAA wins this one.