Definition
EASA FTL replaced the legacy national flight-time regimes across EASA member states from February 2016. The framework is in Part-ORO Subpart FTL ("Flight and Duty Time Limitations and Rest Requirements"), embedded into Regulation (EU) 965/2012 with the implementing detail in the AMC and Guidance Material. The rule covers Commercial Air Transport (CAT) operations — passenger and cargo — but excludes general-aviation Part-NCO and pilot training operations.
Key definitions and limits. Flight Duty Period (FDP) is the time from report-for-duty until on-blocks at the final destination. Maximum FDP depends on time of day at start and number of sectors: a 0600-0759 report with 1-2 sectors allows 13 hours FDP; 5+ sectors at the same start time reduces to 11 hours; reports during the Window of Circadian Low (WOCL — 0200-0559) are reduced further. Augmented crew with class 1 rest facility extends the limit to 17 hours; class 2 facility up to 16 hours; class 3 up to 14 hours.
Flight Time (FT) limits: 100 hours in any 28 consecutive days, 900 hours in any 12 consecutive calendar months, 1,000 hours in any 12 consecutive calendar months by some interpretations. Duty time limits: 60 hours in any 7 consecutive days, 110 hours in any 14 consecutive days, 190 hours in any 28 consecutive days.
Rest requirements. Minimum rest before reporting: 12 hours at home base or 10 hours away from home base. Recurrent extended recovery rest: 36 consecutive hours including two local nights every 7 consecutive days at home base, with reset frequency that prevents accumulation of fatigue debt. The standby duty rules (Airport Standby vs Home Standby vs Other Standby) are notoriously detailed and operator-specific.
The major structural difference from FAA Part 117: EASA FTL relies more on prescriptive limits with substantial detail in supporting AMC; Part 117 relies on a smaller core with FRMS as the systematic alternate compliance route. Operators with multinational pilot bases (a European airline with US-domiciled crews, for example) navigate both regimes simultaneously — the more restrictive of the two applies for any given duty.
The Fatigue Risk Management framework (ORO.FTL.110(c)) sits alongside the prescriptive limits and allows operators to demonstrate equivalent safety through systematic fatigue science rather than rule-by-rule limits. EASA FRMS approvals require operator-specific approval through the competent authority.
Why It Matters for Flight Schools
EASA FTL compliance is a heavily audited area in Part-CAT operations. The Compliance Monitoring Function regularly samples crew rosters, FDP records, and rest documentation against the rule. Findings on FTL breaches trigger Level 1 or Level 2 corrective-action responses depending on severity, and persistent breaches can lead to operating-certificate restrictions.
The operational complexity is real. A long-haul widebody crew operating from Frankfurt to Tokyo via Singapore requires augmentation, the augmented limits, the WOCL adjustments, the home-base and away-from-base rest distinctions, and accurate time-zone-aware accounting. Schools training airline-track cadets typically introduce EASA FTL during MCC and APS-MCC modules — graduates entering line operations need to understand the framework that constrains their duty assignments.
How Aviatize Handles This
Aviatize's compliance and auditing module supports both EASA FTL and FAA Part 117 frameworks within the same platform — operators with multinational pilot bases can run both rules simultaneously, with the binding limit being the more restrictive applicable rule for each pilot's duty. Cumulative tracking handles the rolling-window calculations across 7-day, 14-day, 28-day, 12-month windows.
For scheduling, Aviatize's planning engine treats FTL as a hard constraint on roster generation — proposed duties that would breach FTL are flagged before publication, and the system supports both legal-but-tight rosters (operators optimizing for productivity) and conservative rosters (operators leaving margin for delays). The audit trail produced satisfies both EASA competent-authority oversight and the FAA POI inspections for operators serving both regimes.