AFS-16-12337-E 

August 25, 2016 

 Exemption No. 5533L 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2000-7980 

Ms. Sophie Ghezai 

Director, Aviation Safety and Operations 

Airlines for America 

1275 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. 

Suite 1300 

Washington, DC 20004-1707 

Dear Ms. Ghezai: 

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your petition to extend Exemption 

No. 5533, as amended. It explains the basis for our decision, and describes its effect. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

By letter dated June 13, 2016, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 

behalf of Airlines for America (A4A) for an extension and amendment to Exemption 

No. 5533, as amended. That exemption from § 121.311(b) of Title 14, Code of Federal 

Regulations (14 CFR) allows A4A member airlines to permit qualified flight attendants not 

required by § 121.391(c) to perform duties related to the safety of the airplane and its 

occupants during aircraft movement on the surface. 

In your petition, you indicate that there has been no change in the conditions and reasons 

relative to public interest and safety that were the basis for granting the original exemption. 

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition 

in the Federal Register because the requested extension of the exemption would not set a 

precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to A4A. 
 2

Our Decision 

The FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance of Exemption No. 5533, as 

amended, remains valid with respect to this exemption and is in the public interest. 

Therefore, under the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113, and 44701, which the 

FAA Administrator has delegated to me, Airlines for America is granted an extension of its 

exemption from 14 CFR 121.311(b) which allows A4A member airlines to permit qualified 

flight attendants not required by § 121.391(c) to perform duties related to the safety of the 

airplane and its occupants during aircraft movement on the surface. 

As a separate issue, when A4A previously petitioned for this exemption, the FAA granted 

relief to the petitioner’s member airlines, as well as to all other “similarly situated” air 

carriers, which included any air carrier operating under the provisions of part 121 (Exemption 

No. 5533). However, in an effort to manage exemptions granted by the FAA and to facilitate 

operator compliance with the conditions and limitations of a grant of exemption, the FAA is 

no longer including “similarly situated air carriers” in grants of exemption. 

In order for any air carrier that is not a member or associate member of A4A to exercise the 

relief provided by this grant of exemption, the carrier must submit a petition for similar relief 

that references Exemption No. 5533L. After analysis of the petition, if appropriate, the FAA 

will amend Attachment 1 to Exemption No. 5533 to include the additional air carrier. An air 

carrier may only exercise the relief provided by this grant of exemption when it is listed in 

Attachment 1 to Exemption No. 5533, as amended. 

The Effect of Our Decision 

Our decision extends the termination date of Exemption No. 5533, as amended, to 

October 31, 2018, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

John Barbagallo 

Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service 
 3

Attachment 1 

The relief provided by Exemption No. 5533L is limited to the air carriers listed below: 

Airlines for America 

Alaska Airlines, Inc. 

American Airlines, Inc. and/or US Airways, Inc. 

Atlas Air, Inc. 

Federal Express Corporation 

Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. 

JetBlue Airways Corp. 

Southwest Airlines Co. 

United Airlines, Inc 

United Parcel Service Co. 

Air Canada (Associate Member) 

Additional Certificate Holders1

Delta Air Lines, Inc. 

 

1 Additional certificate holders petitioned for exemption through the following FAA Docket Numbers: Delta 

Air Lines, FAA-2016-8235