On Thursday, the FAA published a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) that will give pilots and others with FAA certificates some extra time to get their certificates and logbooks in order. The rule follows a similar one published in March that gave pilots similar relief.
The rule is complicated, but we distilled it down like this. Unfortunately, pilots who got a grace period with the first SFAR will not get any additional help. Their certs/currency still expires on June 30.
But pilots whose medical certificates would’ve expired at the end of the months of April, May, June, July, August and September, get to tack three months on to the end of the expiration date of their flight physical.
As far as currency is concerned, the FAA is sticking with the original SFAR, which gave pilots a grace period to get current again, though that original rule remains in effect, which essentially just pushes back the end date for pilots who need to reestablish their currency.
AOPA published a handy guide to figuring out the rules and summarized them as follows: “If the expiration date was March 31, the medical is valid until June 30. If the expiration date was April 30, the medical is valid until July 31. If the expiration date was May 31, the medical is valid until August 31. If the expiration date is June 30, the medical is valid until September 30. If the expiration date is July 31, the medical is valid until October 31. If the expiration date is August 31, the medical is valid until November 30. If the expiration date is September 30, the medical is valid until December 31.” And hats off to AOPA for working with the FAA to drive home the need for the relief.
