Canadian Aviation Regulations · SOR/96-433
Ultra-Long-Range Flights
Hard ceilings: no flight duty period over 18 hours, and no flight with a scheduled flight time over 16 hours. Going beyond either needs a Fatigue Risk Management System.
Applies to 703704705 · in force since December 12, 2020
Two absolute limits that sit above everything else:
- No flight duty period over 18 hours (700.62(1)). This is the ceiling even with an augmented crew — 18 hours is also the highest value in the 700.60 table.
- No flight with a scheduled flight time over 16 hours (700.62(2)).
Operating beyond either — an FDP over 18 hours, or a flight scheduled for more than 16 hours of flight time — would require a Fatigue Risk Management System (AC 700-047 §§ 4.68–4.69).
Interaction with split flight duty. AC 700-047 § 4.49 says an FDP extended by split flight duty has “no limit” of its own, while 700.62(1) states a flat 18-hour ceiling. The regulations don’t spell out how the two fit together — treat 18 hours as the ceiling and confirm against your Operations Manual.
Related
Regulation text — CARs 700.62
Reproduced from the consolidated Canadian Aviation Regulations ( SOR/96-433) on the Justice Laws website. CARs 700.62
700.62 (1) An air operator shall not assign a flight duty period of more than 18 hours to a flight crew member and a member shall not accept such an assignment.
(2) An air operator shall not assign a flight crew member to a flight with a scheduled flight time of more than 16 hours, and a member shall not accept such an assignment.
What changed in 2018
In plain language
New with the 2018 rules: absolute upper bounds on flight duty period length and single-flight scheduled flight time.
Paraphrased from Advisory Circular 700-047 .