EASA FDP limits explained: ORO.FTL.205 for cabin crew

What ORO.FTL.205 says

ORO.FTL.205 is the EASA regulation that sets maximum flight duty periods for commercial air transport operations. It applies to all EASA-regulated operators and forms the basis of each airline's approved Flight Time Limitations (FTL) scheme. The regulation does not set a single maximum FDP - it defines a table where the maximum FDP varies based on two key factors: your local report time and the number of sectors (individual flights) in your duty.

The underlying logic is that human alertness varies across the day. An early morning duty starting at 05:00, when you are likely to have had disrupted sleep, is treated differently from a duty starting at 10:00 after a full night's rest. Similarly, flying multiple sectors is more cognitively demanding than a single long sector, so the FDP limit is progressively reduced as sector count rises.

How the FDP table works: report time and sectors

The core FDP table maps report time bands against sector counts. Here are the key relationships:

Fewer sectors, longer FDP. A 1-2 sector duty allows a longer maximum FDP than a 6-sector duty starting at the same time. More sectors means more approach and departure phases, more task demands, and more cumulative cognitive load - so the limit comes down.

Later report times allow longer FDP (up to a point). Duties starting in the mid-morning window (around 08:00 to 13:59 local) attract the highest FDP limits - up to 13 hours for 1-2 sectors. Duties starting very early (before 06:00) or very late (after 18:00) attract reduced limits, because you are more likely to be fatigued at the start or to be operating through the Window of Circadian Low.

Night duties are further reduced. If your duty runs through or starts during the night period, additional reductions apply - particularly if your duty falls within the WOCL.

The Window of Circadian Low (WOCL) and how it reduces FDP

The WOCL runs approximately from 02:00 to 05:59 local time. This is the period in the human circadian cycle when alertness and cognitive performance are at their lowest, regardless of how much sleep you have had. EASA accounts for this by reducing maximum FDP for duties that start during or overlap with the WOCL.

If your report time falls between 02:00 and 04:59 local, you are starting in the WOCL. If your duty starts earlier (say, 22:00 or 23:00) but extends into the WOCL, a proportional reduction applies based on how much of the WOCL your duty covers. The exact reduction depends on the extent of WOCL overlap - this is why two duties with the same start time can have different FDP limits if one extends further into the night than the other.

See the minimum rest guide for how WOCL also affects the rest required before and after night duties.

FDP extensions: the +1 hour rule

In unforeseen operational circumstances - delays, technical issues, unexpected port congestion - an operator may extend the FDP by up to 1 hour beyond the table maximum. This extension is conditional: it must be unforeseeable at the planning stage, it can only be applied twice in any seven consecutive days, and additional rest must be provided either before or after the extended duty (depending on when the extension is used).

Extensions are meant to be exceptional. If your roster is routinely built to require extensions, that is a planning failure, not a legitimate use of the extension provision. If you are regularly being given extended duties in what appear to be foreseeable circumstances, it is worth raising with your union.

Common misconceptions about FDP

FDP is not the same as block time. Block time is the hours spent in the air. FDP is the total period from your report time to your release after your last flight, including all ground time, turnarounds, taxi waits, and delays. FDP is always longer than block time and is what EASA regulates. Check your roster against your actual release time, not your scheduled landing time.

FDP starts at report, not at the gate. Your FDP begins at your scheduled report time (or the actual report time for standby activations). If you report at 06:00 and your flight does not push back until 08:00, those two hours of ground time are counted in your FDP.

Multi-sector duties reduce your limit faster than you expect. A six-sector duty has a significantly lower FDP limit than a one-sector duty at the same start time. This is particularly relevant for short-haul crew doing high-frequency rotation duties. Use the FDP tracker to check whether your roster is within limits before it becomes a problem at the aircraft.

Am I legal to operate? The pre-duty check

Before any duty, the responsibility for confirming fitness to operate sits with you as well as your operator. If your FDP limit is exceeded, you should not operate - and you have the right to declare incapacity on fatigue grounds under EASA regulations. See our pre-duty legality checklist for the full set of checks to run before you report.