Q&A
What is "continuous duty", and do the hours I sit at an outstation count as rest?
"Continuous duty" isn't a CARs term — it's the pattern of reporting in the evening, waiting hours at an outstation, then flying back in the morning. The wait is flight duty period time, not rest. Only a qualifying split-duty break in suitable accommodation counts.
Turns on: CARs 700.28 , CARs 700.50
“Continuous duty” is not a term in the CARs. Pilots use it for a common pattern: report in the afternoon or evening, fly to an outstation, wait there for hours, then fly back early the next morning.
The wait is duty, not rest
That wait sits inside your flight duty period. It is not a rest period — a rest period is a continuous period off duty — and it is not time free from duty. So:
- Your maximum FDP still comes from 700.28, keyed to your evening report time. Evening starts sit in the more restrictive rows, so the limit is short — often 12 hours or less.
- The clock keeps running through the wait.
The only way to break it up
A qualifying split flight duty break — at least 60 minutes in suitable accommodation — is the one mechanism that both stops counting against you the same way and lets the FDP be extended. A wait in a crew room or a terminal is neither.
If the trip flips you between early and late/night duty, the disruptive-schedule rule (700.41) also applies.
See also: Maximum Flight Duty Period (700.28) · Split flight duty (700.50) · FDP calculator
Worked examples
Evening report, two flights, no accommodation
You report at 21:00 for two flights of about two hours each (average duration 50 minutes or more). You then wait three hours at the outstation with nowhere suitable to sleep before the return flight.
→ Maximum FDP is 12:00 — CARs 700.28(4), start-time row 17:00–21:59, "1 to 4 flights" column. The three-hour wait is inside that FDP; it does not extend it.
CARs 700.28(4)
Same trip, but with a qualifying break
Same schedule, but the operator provides a 3-hour break in suitable accommodation entirely between 00:00 and 05:59 acclimatized.
→ The FDP may be extended by (180 − 45) × 100% = 135 minutes (2 h 15 m), giving a maximum FDP of 14:15.
CARs 700.50(1)(a), (2)
These examples are also run as automated checks against the FDP calculator.