I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1889
To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the training requirements 
for and require the certification of cabin crew members, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2003
Mrs. LOWEY (for herself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. BOSWELL, 
Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CASE, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Flor-
ida, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of 
Texas, Mr. FORD, Mr. FROST, Mr. HOLDEN, Mrs. KELLY, Ms. KIL-
PATRICK, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. MICHAUD, Ms. 
MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. 
SOLIS, Mr. WEINER, Mr. GORDON, Mr. COSTELLO, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 
Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HONDA, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. 
PALLONE, and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure 
A BILL 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the 
training requirements for and require the certification 
of cabin crew members, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Flight Attendant Cer-
tification Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Federal Aviation Administration re-
quires cabin crew on board all transport category 
aircraft (20 seats or more) to handle aircraft evacu-
ations and other emergency procedures. 
(2) Cabin crew are in-flight first responders 
trained to handle medical emergencies, fires, and se-
curity threats. 
(3) As safety-sensitive employees, cabin crew 
are tested for drug and alcohol use. 
(4) Federal regulations limit cabin crew duty 
time and stipulate mandatory rest periods. 
(5) A wide disparity in quality and content of 
training exists from air carrier to air carrier. 
(6) The Federal Aviation Administration cer-
tifies other groups with safety responsibilities under 
its jurisdiction, including pilots, mechanics, repair-
men, dispatchers, and parachute packers. 
(7) Certification of cabin crew will make the 
Federal Aviation Administration responsible for en-
suring that cabin crew are qualified to perform their 
safety and security duties.
SEC. 3. TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR CABIN CREW. 
Section 44935 of chapter 449 of part A of subtitle 
VII of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) TRAINING STANDARDS FOR CABIN CREW.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 
prescribe standards for cabin crew training and cer-
tification. The standards shall include the following: 
‘‘(A) 
MANDATORY
CERTIFICATION.—All 
new and existing cabin crew members shall be 
certified by the Administrator after successful 
completion of an air carrier’s training program, 
which consists of—
‘‘(i) initial, indoctrination, and emer-
gency training; 
‘‘(ii) air carrier specific training re-
lated to aircraft types and operator’s cer-
tificate; and 
‘‘(iii) submission by the air carrier to 
the Administrator confirming such comple-
tion. 
‘‘(B) STANDARDIZED TRAINING.—The Ad-
ministrator shall be prohibited from granting 
an air carrier a waiver of cabin crew training 
requirements or an exemption from any part of 
such requirements.
‘‘(C) QUALIFICATIONS.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To be qualified to 
receive a cabin crew certificate, a cabin 
crew member shall—
‘‘(I) successfully complete the 
training requirements established by 
the Administrator, including all ini-
tial, indoctrination, emergency, transi-
tion, differences, recurrent, and re-
qualification training as described in 
the applicable regulations; 
‘‘(II) successfully complete the 
cabin security and self-defense train-
ing requirements established by the 
Transportation 
Security 
Adminis-
trator; and 
‘‘(III) successfully perform the 
assigned duties of a cabin crew mem-
ber and complete the approved pro-
ficiency check, under the supervision 
of a certified instructor or supervisor, 
for not less than 5 hours of initial op-
erating experience.
‘‘(ii) INITIAL
OPERATING
EXPERI-
ENCE.—Initial operating experience shall 
be conducted: 
‘‘(I) on an operating flight; 
‘‘(II) 
without 
decreasing 
the 
number of required cabin crew com-
plement on an aircraft; and 
‘‘(III) by assigning not more 
than 2 qualifying cabin crew on a nar-
row-body aircraft or not more than 4 
qualifying cabin crew on a wide-body 
aircraft. 
No deviations, exemptions, and waivers 
from these requirements shall be per-
mitted. 
‘‘(D) CONTENTS.—The cabin crew certifi-
cate shall—
‘‘(i) be numbered and recorded by the 
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration; 
‘‘(ii) contain the name, address, and 
description of the individual to whom the 
certificate is issued;
‘‘(iii) contain the name of the current 
air carrier employer of the certificate hold-
er; 
‘‘(iv) contain terms the Administrator 
determines are necessary to ensure safety 
in air commerce, including terms that the 
certificate shall remain valid unless the Ad-
ministrator suspends or revokes the certifi-
cate; and 
‘‘(v) designate the type and model of 
aircraft on which the certificate holder 
cabin crew member has successfully com-
pleted all Federal Aviation Administration 
and Transportation Security Administra-
tion required training in order to be as-
signed duties on board such type and 
model of aircraft. 
‘‘(E) CARRIER TRAINING APPROVAL.—Air 
carrier training programs shall require approval 
by the Administrator. To assure consistent 
training and competency, only a FAA head-
quarters staff position shall be authorized to 
approved training programs. Principal oper-
ations inspectors or other personnel with re-
sponsibilities for a particular air carrier or car-
riers shall not be permitted to issue such ap-
proval or permitted to grant exemptions, devi-
ations, or waivers from any approved training 
requirements used to evaluate air carrier train-
ing programs or to determine whether such pro-
grams shall be approved. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the term ‘cabin crew’ means individuals 
working in an aircraft cabin on board a transport 
category aircraft with 20 or more seats.’’.
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