Senators Ask FAA to Study Flight Attendant Staffing on Widebody Aircraft

The letter, sent to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, cites approvals granted to American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines to operate some flights with one flight attendant for every 50 passengers. The senators said they are concerned that some aircraft have more emergency exits than available flight attendants during an evacuation.

"Without a certified Flight Attendant positioned at every dual-aisle floor-level exit, passengers could be left vulnerable at precisely the moment they must rely on skilled, decisive guidance and rapid action from highly trained and certified Flight Attendants," Sens.

Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin wrote in the letter. The senators added that reduced staffing increases risk if a flight attendant becomes incapacitated. They stated that current rules allow one attendant to be responsible for two doors up to 19 feet apart on widebody aircraft.

Last year the FAA certified American Airlines' 787-9P aircraft with a minimum staffing of seven flight attendants even though the plane has eight exit doors. The airline said it typically assigns eight to 10 attendants depending on flight distance but that the lower minimum provides operational flexibility when crew members become ill.

The FAA said in a statement that its safety regulations base flight attendant requirements on airplane seating capacity. It added that American Airlines successfully completed an evacuation demonstration with seven attendants on the 787-9P, which has a lower seating capacity than other 787 models that require eight attendants.

Airlines must complete an FAA evacuation demonstration for every seating configuration to establish minimum staffing. Those requirements can vary by seating layout and flight duration. Carriers may schedule additional attendants above the minimum. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said current rules permit one attendant to cover two door exits on widebody aircraft.

She cited past accidents in which unattended exits led to chaos, unusable doors, injuries and increased smoke in the cabin. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants met with lawmakers in December to raise similar concerns about minimum staffing on widebody aircraft.

The senators also requested information on evacuation testing that Congress required the FAA to complete within one year of the agency's reauthorization bill. That deadline passed in May 2025. The mandated testing was intended to replace 2019 tests that did not account for real-world conditions such as luggage in aisles, small children, elderly passengers, disabled travelers or service animals.

Duckworth has previously called for testing that reflects these factors. "Almost two years after enactment, the report is still not complete," the senators wrote. The FAA currently requires aircraft to be evacuable within 90 seconds, though actual evacuations often take longer.

In 2024, passengers and crew required between 11 and 18 minutes to fully evacuate Japan Airlines Flight 516 after a collision at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. "This standard is not arbitrary—it is based on the harsh reality that seconds can be the difference between life and death," the senators wrote.

Duckworth said in a statement that the combination of delayed testing and reduced staffing does not improve safety for the flying public. A 2020 Department of Transportation Inspector General report found the FAA's process for updating evacuation standards lacks sufficient data collection and analysis on current risks.

The senators wrote that the presence of flight attendants in the right locations helps passengers survive emergencies and that appropriate crew staffing is a life-saving necessity. The letter asks the FAA to study how reduced staffing affects evacuation efficiency. The agency has not yet released a public response to the senators' specific requests.