CASA 172/07 - Direction – number of cabin attendants

Administered by Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts

Legislation au F2007L01462 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Explanatory Statement

Civil Aviation Regulations 1988

Direction — number of cabin attendants

Subsection 98 (1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the Act and in the interests of the safety of air navigation.

Under regulation 208 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988, CASA may give directions as to the operating crew required to be carried on an aircraft having regard to the safety of air navigation. Subsection 7 and subparagraph 6.1 (a) of Civil Aviation Order 20.16.3 (CAO 20.16.3) were made under regulation 208 and provide, among other things, that aircraft carrying more than 36 and not more than 216 passengers must carry a cabin attendant for each unit of 36 passengers or part of that.

CAO 20.16.3 has remained in the same form since 1960 and as such represents a 47 year gap since a reassessment of cabin attendant numbers against a criterion of allowable seating rather than passenger numbers. CASA in a report Review of policies and practices for first-of-type certification of imported aircraft recommended the recognition of the Federal Aviation Administration (the FAA) certification standards. The recommendation was adopted.

The Boeing certification of the aircraft relates to the design of the floor plan and the seating configuration in relation to the location of exits. CASA does not call for a re‑evaluation of the aircraft design; instead CASA accepts the design criterion. CASA does require operators to demonstrate the procedures that are specific to the operator, which are evaluated, thus there is a subtle distinction between the certification criterion and an operator imposed safety procedure which may or may not enhance the evacuation of the aircraft in an emergency evacuation.

Safety improvements in redesign of the “Self-Help” Type III overwing exits by the aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, and safety recommendations from Cranfield University on briefing passengers seated in overwing exit row seating are cause to reassess the emergency evacuation procedures in conjunction with the aircraft certification requirements of the FAA.

Pacific Blue Airlines (NZ) Limited (the operator) has incorporated procedures for the briefing of passengers seated at self-help exit rows as part of the pre-departure passenger safety briefing, taking into account the conclusions of the Cranfield University research.

The operator has incorporated pre-warned emergency briefings for passengers seated in Type I and III exit rows based on the verbal briefing criteria specified in the Cranfield University research.

The operator has incorporated passenger briefing procedures for a pre-warned emergency where there is time to prepare for an emergency evacuation.

The revised briefings are acceptable to CASA and are seen as a safety enhancement.

CASA is satisfied the evacuation of a full complement of passengers for the Boeing 737-800 is able to be achieved in a time of 90 seconds.

CASA is satisfied that the demonstration of the evacuation procedures adopted by the operator to support their application to operate with the certification criterion of 4 cabin attendants has been demonstrated successfully.

CASA does not consider that safety would be compromised if a Boeing 737-800 carried cabin attendants during operations with passenger seating complement of 1 cabin attendant to 50 seats fitted to the aircraft or part of that.

 

Legislative Instruments Act

Under subparagraph 6 (d) (i) of the Legislative Instrument Act 2003 (the LIA), an instrument is a legislative instrument for section 5 of the LIA if it is declared to be a disallowable instrument under legislation in force before the commencement of the LIA. Under regulation 5A of CAR 1988, if CASA has issued a CAO, and CASA later issues a direction that affects the operation of the CAO, the later document is declared to be a disallowable instrument. The instrument affects the operation of subparagraph 6.1 (a) of CAO 20.16.3. As a legislative instrument, it is subject to tabling and disallowance in the Parliament under sections 38 and 42 of the LIA.

 

Consultation

Consultation has not been carried out in accordance with section 17 of the LIA. The direction is in terms identical to one previously issued to another operator in respect of the same type of aircraft. The operator requested this direction and has had to meet the same standard as that applied to the previous operator. Any other operator requesting a direction in the same terms would have to meet the same or an equivalent standard.

 

The direction has been issued by a delegate of CASA. It commences on the day after it is registered and stops having effect at the end of 30 June 2010.

 

[Instrument number CASA 172/07]

Overview

The Civil Aviation Regulations 1988, enacted by the Parliament of Australia, aim to ensure the safety of air navigation. Specifically, the legislation allows for the Governor-General to make regulations, and under regulation 208, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) can issue directions regarding the operating crew required on an aircraft. The issue at hand is the reassessment of the number of cabin attendants needed for emergency evacuations in Boeing 737-800 aircraft. CASA, based on recommendations from the Federal Aviation Administration and research from Cranfield University, has revised the criteria for cabin attendants from a fixed number per passenger to one that takes into account the aircraft's seating configuration and safety improvements. This change addresses a 47-year gap in the reassessment of cabin attendant numbers, and CASA is satisfied with the operator's demonstration of safety procedures, allowing for a reduced number of cabin attendants for certain seating configurations.

Scope and Application

The Civil Aviation Regulations 1988, as amended and specifically through the direction issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) under section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988, pertain to the number of cabin attendants required on aircraft to ensure the safety of air navigation. This regulation applies to aircraft operators, specifically Pacific Blue Airlines (NZ) Limited, and potentially other operators of Boeing 737-800 aircraft who might request similar operational directions. The regulation sets forth the number of cabin attendants necessary based on passenger seating capacity, with a particular focus on aircraft carrying between 36 and 216 passengers. The regulation extends its application nationally, as it falls under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Australia. There are no specific exclusions mentioned in the text, but the applicability of the regulation is contingent upon the aircraft type and seating configuration. The regulation may be subject to further amendments or interpretations through subordinate instruments such as Civil Aviation Orders, which may be updated or modified in accordance with safety standards and recommendations from bodies like the Federal Aviation Administration and Cranfield University.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988, specifically regulation 208, allow the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to issue directions regarding the operating crew required on an aircraft to ensure the safety of air navigation. In accordance with these regulations, Civil Aviation Order (CAO) 20.16.3 was made, which requires aircraft carrying more than 36 but not more than 216 passengers to carry a cabin attendant for every unit of 36 passengers or part of that number. This regulation has remained unchanged since 1960, and CASA has recently recommended adopting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification standards to reassess cabin attendant numbers. The obligations imposed by these regulations on the parties or entities they govern include ensuring that the appropriate number of cabin attendants are carried on the aircraft as per CAO 20.16.3, and that operators demonstrate procedures specific to their operations that are evaluated and found acceptable by CASA. In this case, the operator, Pacific Blue Airlines (NZ) Limited, has incorporated passenger briefing procedures for a pre-warned emergency and briefed passengers seated in overwing exit rows based on research from Cranfield University. CASA has accepted these procedures as a safety enhancement. Failure to comply with the requirements of CAO 20.16.3 or the procedures demonstrated by the operator could result in civil or criminal consequences, although specific penalties are not mentioned in the text. CASA has declared the direction to be a disallowable instrument under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA), meaning that it is subject to tabling and disallowance in Parliament under sections 38 and 42 of the LIA. Consultation has not been carried out in accordance with section 17 of the LIA, and the direction is in terms identical to one previously issued to another operator in respect of the same type of aircraft. The operator requested this direction and has had to meet the same standard as that applied to the previous operator, and any other operator requesting a direction in the same terms would have to meet the same or an equivalent standard. The direction has been issued by a delegate of CASA and will commence on the day after it is registered, with the effect stopping at the end of 30 June 2010.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.