Regulation Text
(a) No person may operate an airplane unless at least the following number of flight attendants are on board the airplane:
(1) For airplanes having more than 19 but less than 51 passengers on board, one flight attendant.
(2) For airplanes having more than 50 but less than 101 passengers on board, two flight attendants.
(3) For airplanes having more than 100 passengers on board, two flight attendants plus one additional flight attendant for each unit (or part of a unit) of 50 passengers above 100.
(b) No person may serve as a flight attendant on an airplane when required by paragraph (a) of this section unless that person has demonstrated to the pilot in command familiarity with the necessary functions to be performed in an emergency or a situation requiring emergency evacuation and is capable of using the emergency equipment installed on that airplane.
Research Notes
Section 91.533 — Flight attendant requirements — requires flight attendants on certain large airplanes operated under Subpart F.
The thresholds:
- Aircraft with 19 or fewer passenger seats — no flight attendant required
- Aircraft with 20-50 passenger seats — at least 1 flight attendant required
- Aircraft with 51-100 passenger seats — at least 2 flight attendants required
- Above 100 passenger seats — additional flight attendants per the standard 1-per-50-seats ratio
Flight attendant qualifications: Flight attendants on Part 91 aircraft must receive training equivalent to that required of flight attendants on Part 121/135 operators in the specific aircraft type — covering emergency procedures, evacuations, first aid, etc.
Reference: AC 121-24D on passenger safety; Part 121 Subpart S on flight attendant qualifications (used as reference).
Amendment History
Amendment History Coming Soon
Every time this regulation changes, we'll record it here — the date, what was amended, and a plain-English summary of what shifted.