In this article we will talk about the working hours and limits of working hours of the aeronaut. Unlike other professions, which may have special working hours that differ from those defined in the Federal Constitution of 1988, based on hours worked (the general rule is that normal working hours do not exceed eight hours a day and forty-four hours a week, or six hours for work carried out in uninterrupted shifts).
In the case of aeronauts, it also depends on other factors, such as: type of crew, aircraft and where they show up to carry out the activity, for example.
Thus, as a rule, article 30 of Law nº 13.475, of August 28, 2017, understands that the aeronaut must carry out flight time or flight time, which is “understood from the beginning of the displacement, in the case of an aircraft of fixed wing, or from engine start-up, in the case of a rotary-wing aircraft, to the moment when, respectively, the aircraft is immobilized or the engines are cut off, at the end of the flight (“block by block)” ”.
To this end, it also establishes that the travel time between the airport defined as the contractual basis and the airport designated for the start of the flight will be computed in the working day and not remunerated.
That's the rule of law – which has led to these many analyzes of the different working hours of the aeronaut. This is because, in order to comply with the law, the hours before take-off, after engine shutdown, hours on the ground and limits on normal working hours must be verified, depending on the crew and aircraft in which it operates.
The crews are as follows: minimum crew (Article 14) which is “determined in the form of the aircraft's type certification, approved by the Brazilian civil aviation authority, its use being permitted on local instruction, experience, inspection and transfer flights”; simple crew (article 15), which is “consisting of a minimum crew plus, when applicable, the crew necessary to carry out the flight”; composite crew (article 16), which in turn “consists of a simple crew plus a commander, a flight mechanic, when the equipment so requires, and at least 25% (twenty-five percent) of the number of flight attendants” and the relay crew (article 17), "consisting of a simple crew plus a commander, a pilot, a flight mechanic, when the equipment so requires, and 50% (fifty percent) of the number of flight attendants". there is also the helicopter crew, a separate category.
The rule, then, defines the hours based on these crews, being in article 31 that of flight and cabin crew who carry out regular and non-scheduled public air transport service, except the air taxi modality and article 32 defines the rule for non-regular public air transport service in the form of air taxi, specialized air service (SAE), provided by a teaching organization, in the form of flight instruction, other specialized air services, covering the activities defined by the Brazilian Aeronautics Code and by the Brazilian civil aviation authority and private air service, understood as that carried out, on a non-profit basis, at the service of the aircraft operator.
And there is also a monthly and annual limit, under the of article 33 of the same law, of flight hours.
Thus, summarizing such information, to know how many hours and what limits the aeronaut must work, one must observe:
– The aircraft has a fixed or rotary wing and, within one of these modes, it is a jet, turbo-propeller, conventional or helicopter aircraft, and different types of aircraft are also operated;
– What type of crew;
– What type of air transport to be carried out;
– There is some activity defined as special to make an exception to the rule;
It seems like a lot to assimilate, but the airlines control all these factors, in a document well known to the employee: the time cards. Another issue is that this general rule is complemented by specificities collectively negotiated, and formalized in Collective Work Agreements and Conventions, such as the payment of a minimum number of flight hours.
If there is no consensus as to the correct discharge of hours, it is important to consider all the factors indicated to locate any differences and, in fact, in labor lawsuits, it is very common to appoint an ing expert to determine the values. Writing down the activities and checking with the document formalized by the employer, then, can be a good way to avoid errors in the calculation of these hours.
So many hours evaluating it made me hungry…how about we talk about the daily food allowances? Just wait for the next article!
Text produced by labor lawyer Janaína Ramon, from the firm Crivelli Advogados Associados.
