FAA Amending Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR)
Due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, the Federal Aviation Administration is amending the previous Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) issued on April 30, 2020.
The amendment recognizes that even as stay-at-home advisories are lifted, airmen continue to experience difficulty complying with certain training, recency, checking, testing and duration requirements. The amendment extends some medical certificate relief that the original SFAR provided and expands medical relief to people whose certificates will expire in the coming months. It also expands relief to a new population of airmen who may be unable to satisfy training and qualification requirements due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency. Those who may be affected by this amendment should carefully review the eligibility, conditions and duration of each section of relief to ensure compliance.
Under this amended SFAR, medical certificates that expire in April through September 2020 are extended 3 calendar months beyond their original expiration. For example, medical certificates that would have expired in April are extended through July 31. Pilots who hold medical certificates that expire in July, August, and September will have a full three-month extension.
The FAA maintains that the limited extensions provided, not to exceed 3 calendar months (grace months), for training, checking, and currency requirements are acceptable in these extraordinary circumstances. The grace months provided by the SFAR are to offer flexibility in scheduling the necessary events. Certificate holders should seek to schedule those events as soon as it is practical and safe to do so given individual circumstances.
The amended SFAR contains a summary table of amendments.