14 CFR § 117.21 - Reserve status.
---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t14/s117.21"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "14 CFR § 117.21 - Reserve status."
title_number: 14
title_name: "Aeronautics and Space"
section_number: "117.21"
section_name: "Reserve status."
chapter_name: "FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION"
subchapter_number: "G"
subchapter_name: "AIR CARRIERS AND OPERATORS FOR COMPENSATION OR HIRE: CERTIFICATION AND OPERATIONS"
part_number: "117"
part_name: "FLIGHT AND DUTY LIMITATIONS AND REST REQUIREMENTS: FLIGHTCREW MEMBERS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 40119, 44101, 44701-44702, 44705, 44709-44711, 44713, 44716-44717, 44722, 46901, 44903-44904, 44912, 46105."
regulatory_source: "Docket FAA-2009-1093, 77 FR 398, Jan. 4, 2012, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "117"
---
# 117.21 Reserve status.
(a) Unless specifically designated as airport/standby or short-call reserve by the certificate holder, all reserve is considered long-call reserve.
(b) Any reserve that meets the definition of airport/standby reserve must be designated as airport/standby reserve. For airport/standby reserve, all time spent in a reserve status is part of the flightcrew member's flight duty period.
(c) For short call reserve,
(1) The reserve availability period may not exceed 14 hours.
(2) For a flightcrew member who has completed a reserve availability period, no certificate holder may schedule and no flightcrew member may accept an assignment of a reserve availability period unless the flightcrew member receives the required rest in § 117.25(e).
(3) For an unaugmented operation, the total number of hours a flightcrew member may spend in a flight duty period and a reserve availability period may not exceed the lesser of the maximum applicable flight duty period in Table B of this part plus 4 hours, or 16 hours, as measured from the beginning of the reserve availability period.
(4) For an augmented operation, the total number of hours a flightcrew member may spend in a flight duty period and a reserve availability period may not exceed the flight duty period in Table C of this part plus 4 hours, as measured from the beginning of the reserve availability period.
(d) For long call reserve, if a certificate holder contacts a flightcrew member to assign him or her to a flight duty period that will begin before and operate into the flightcrew member's window of circadian low, the flightcrew member must receive a 12 hour notice of report time from the certificate holder.
(e) A certificate holder may shift a reserve flightcrew member's reserve status from long-call to short-call only if the flightcrew member receives a rest period as provided in § 117.25(e).