EASA flight time limitations,
explained in plain language.
EASA’s flight and duty time rules (ORO.FTL) decide how long you may fly today, how much rest you need afterwards, and how many hours you may accumulate this month and this year. The regulation is written for lawyers; your roster is not. This guide walks through the rules the way a crew member actually meets them — and shows how Choppy, the pilot logbook app, turns the whole check into a few plain-language questions.
What counts as flight duty period (FDP)?
Your flight duty period starts when you report for a duty that includes a flight and ends when the aircraft finally comes to rest after your last sector — engines off, parking brake set. It includes briefing, turnarounds and delays, not just block time. FDP is the number most limits attach to, and it is different from both duty period (which also covers ground duties) and flight time (block hours), which have their own cumulative caps.
Your basic maximum FDP: report time and sectors
For an acclimatised crew member the basic maximum FDP comes from a table (ORO.FTL.205): it starts at 13 hours for a 1–2 sector duty reporting in the friendly morning window, and shrinks from there. Report in the evening or night — when your duty encroaches the window of circadian low (02:00–05:59) — and the ceiling drops as far as 11 hours. Every sector beyond the second takes another 30 minutes off. A 6-sector afternoon duty therefore has a very different budget than a 2-sector morning one, which is exactly why guessing is a bad strategy.
What moves the number
The basic table is only the starting point. The provisions crews actually trip over are the modifiers:
- Planned extension — up to 1 hour more, limited to twice in any 7 consecutive days, with extra rest before and after and restrictions around the circadian low.
- In-flight rest — with augmented crew and proper rest facilities, the maximum FDP can grow substantially (up to 18 hours with class 1 rest).
- Split duty — a long enough break on the ground during the duty can extend the allowable FDP.
- Standby — airport standby counts towards your FDP; on home standby, time beyond the buffer eats into the FDP you have left when the phone finally rings.
- Delayed reporting — a properly notified delay shifts the calculation instead of simply burning your budget.
Minimum rest: what you are owed afterwards
Rest is part of the limit, not a perk. At home base the minimum rest before the next duty is 12 hours or the length of the preceding duty, whichever is greater; away from base it is 10 hours, and it must contain an 8-hour sleep opportunity plus time for travel and physiological needs. Reduced-rest provisions exist, but they come with FDP penalties on the other side — another interaction that is easy to get wrong at 05:30.
The cumulative limits
Beyond the single duty, EASA caps your totals: 100 flight hours in any 28 consecutive days, 900 flight hours per calendar year, and 1,000 flight hours in any 12 consecutive months — plus duty-hour ceilings of 60 in 7 days, 110 in 14 and 190 in 28. These are the limits that sneak up over a busy summer, and the reason your logbook and your FTL check belong in the same app: the cumulative numbers fall straight out of your logged flights.
Check your duty in seconds, not spreadsheets
Choppy’s guided FTL check asks the questions in order and does the regulation for you — including the interactions between standby, split duty, extensions and in-flight rest that make hand calculations risky:
- Open More → FTL in Choppy and start the guided check.
- Answer the plain-language steps: report time, sectors, any standby or delayed reporting, in-flight rest or split duty.
- Read your result: the maximum FDP as a budget bar, your margin on today’s duty, and the rest sequence you are owed afterwards.
- Need to tweak a what-if? One tap hands everything to the full calculator with your answers pre-filled.
Your operations manual has the final word
ORO.FTL sets the frame, but your operator’s approved OM-A can be more restrictive — and it is the legally binding document for your operation. Choppy’s FTL tools follow the EASA regulation and show their working so you can compare against your OM-A. Your cumulative hours are computed live from the same logbook you already keep — no second data entry.
Try the guided FTL checkFrequently asked questions
What is the maximum FDP under EASA FTL?
For an acclimatised crew member it ranges from 13 hours (1–2 sectors, favourable morning report) down to 11 hours when the duty encroaches the window of circadian low, minus 30 minutes for each sector beyond the second. Extensions, split duty and in-flight rest can raise the ceiling; standby and reduced rest interact with it. Choppy’s guided check computes the exact figure for your duty.
Does standby count towards my flight duty period?
Airport standby counts in full towards duty and interacts with your maximum FDP. For home standby, time beyond the initial buffer reduces the FDP available once you are called out. This is one of the most commonly miscalculated provisions — and one the guided check handles for you.
What are the EASA cumulative flight time limits?
100 flight hours in any 28 consecutive days, 900 flight hours in a calendar year, and 1,000 flight hours in any 12 consecutive months, alongside duty limits of 60 hours in 7 days, 110 in 14 and 190 in 28. Choppy tracks all of them automatically from your logged flights.
Is Choppy’s FTL check a legal reference?
It is a decision-support tool, not a legal authority. It implements the EASA FTL rules and shows its reasoning step by step, but your operator’s OM-A and your authority remain the binding references. When in doubt, check with crew control — armed with the right numbers.
