Safe Skies Act of 2026

Key Points

• This bill requires the Department of Transportation to apply the same rest and duty-time rules to cargo pilots that currently apply to passenger airline pilots. Right now, cargo pilots often work under different standards that can allow for longer shifts and less sleep between flights.
• The main goal is to reduce pilot fatigue to prevent accidents. Supporters of the bill argue that a tired pilot is a safety risk to the public regardless of whether the plane is carrying passengers or heavy freight.
• If this bill becomes law, the Secretary of Transportation would have 30 days to update the rules. This fast-tracks the process by bypassing the usual long periods of administrative debate and paperwork.
• This change would mostly affect large shipping companies and their flight crews. It aims to close a safety gap that has existed since 2012, when cargo operations were excluded from stricter flightcrew rest requirements.

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