air force travel rules

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

• A–Z Index
• Operating Status

Resources For

• New / Prospective Employees
• Federal Employees
• HR Professionals

Compensatory Time Off for Travel

Fact sheet: compensatory time off for travel, description.

Compensatory time off for travel is earned by an employee for time spent in a travel status away from the employee's official duty station when such time is not otherwise compensable.

Employee Coverage

Compensatory time off for travel may be earned by an "employee" as defined in 5 U.S.C. 5541(2) who is employed in an "Executive agency" as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105, without regard to whether the employee is exempt from or covered by the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended. For example, this includes employees in senior-level (SL) and scientific or professional (ST) positions, but not members of the Senior Executive Service or Senior Foreign Service or Foreign Service officers. Effective April 27, 2008, prevailing rate (wage) employees are covered under the compensatory time off for travel provision. See CPM 2008-04 .)

"Compensable"

Compensatory time off for travel may only be earned for time in a travel status when such time is not otherwise "compensable." Compensable refers to periods of time creditable as hours of work for the purpose of determining a specific pay entitlement. For example, certain travel time may be creditable as hours of work under the overtime pay provisions in 5 CFR 550.112(g) or 551.422. (See fact sheet on hours of work for travel .)

Creditable Travel

To be creditable under this provision, travel must be officially authorized. In other words, travel must be for work purposes and must be approved by an authorized agency official or otherwise authorized under established agency policies.

For the purpose of compensatory time off for travel, time in a travel status includes-

• Time spent traveling between the official duty station and a temporary duty station;
• Time spent traveling between two temporary duty stations; and
• The "usual waiting time" preceding or interrupting such travel (e.g., waiting at an airport or train station prior to departure). The employing agency has the sole and exclusive discretion to determine what is creditable as "usual waiting time." An "extended" waiting period-i.e., an unusually long wait during which the employee is free to rest, sleep, or otherwise use the time for his or her own purposes-is not considered time in a travel status.

Commuting Time

• Travel outside of regular working hours between an employee's home and a temporary duty station or transportation terminal outside the limits of his or her official duty station is considered creditable travel time. However, the agency must deduct the employee's normal home-to-work/work-to-home commuting time from the creditable travel time.
• Travel outside of regular working hours between a worksite and a transportation terminal is creditable travel time, and no commuting time offset applies.
• Travel outside of regular working hours to or from a transportation terminal within the limits of the employee's official duty station is considered equivalent to commuting time and is not creditable travel time.

Crediting and Use

Compensatory time off for travel is credited and used in increments of one-tenth of an hour (6 minutes) or one-quarter of an hour (15 minutes). Employees must comply with their agency's procedures for requesting credit within the time period required by the agency. Employees must also comply with their agency's policies and procedures for scheduling and using earned compensatory time off for travel.

Compensatory time off for travel is forfeited-

• If not used by the end of the 26th pay period after the pay period during which it was earned. (See Notes 1 and 2.)
• Upon voluntary transfer to another agency;
• Upon movement to a noncovered position; or
• Upon separation from the Federal Government. (See Note 1.)

Under no circumstances may an employee receive payment for unused compensatory time off for travel.

Note 1: See exceptions for uniformed service or an on-the-job injury with entitlement to injury compensation at 5 CFR 550.1407(a)(2) and Question 24 of the Questions and Answers on Compensatory Time Off for Travel (under References below).

Note 2: See exception due to an exigency of the service beyond the employee's control at 5 CFR 550.1407(e) and Question 25 of the Questions and Answers on Compensatory Time Off for Travel (under References below).

Limitations

Compensatory time off for travel may not be considered in applying the biweekly or annual premium pay caps or the aggregate limitation on pay. There is no limitation on the amount of compensatory time off for travel an employee may earn.

• 5 U.S.C. 5550b
• 5 CFR 550, subpart N
• Questions and Answers on Compensatory Time Off for Travel (see Attachment 1 to CPM 2005-03)
• Examples of creditable travel time (see Attachment 2 to CPM 2005-03)
• Hours of Work for Travel

Back to Top

• Subscribe Now (Opens in new window)

Your Air Force

• Pentagon & Congress
• Army Times (Opens in new window)
• Marine Corps Times (Opens in new window)
• Navy Times (Opens in new window)
• Defense News (Opens in new window)
• Flashpoints
• Benefits Guide (Opens in new window)
• Military Pay Center
• Military Retirement
• VA Loan Center (Opens in new window)
• Military Benefits
• Discount Depot
• Military Culture
• Military Fitness
• Gear Scout (Opens in new window)
• Military Movies & Video Games
• Military Sports
• Transition Guide (Opens in new window)
• Military History
• Black Military History (Opens in new window)
• Congressional Veterans Caucus (Opens in new window)
• Military Appreciation Month (Opens in new window)
• Vietnam Vets & Rolling Thunder (Opens in new window)
• Hall of Valor (Opens in new window)
• Service Members of the Year (Opens in new window)
• Create an Obituary (Opens in new window)
• Pay It Forward (Opens in new window)
• Medals & Misfires
• Installation Guide (Opens in new window)
• Battle Bracket
• Task Force Violent
• CFC Givers Guide
• Photo Galleries
• Early Bird Brief
• Long-Term Care Partners
• Navy Federal
• Newsletters (Opens in new window)
• Digital Edition (Opens in new window)

Air Force extends enforcement deadline for new body composition test

Airmen and guardians who exceed the Air Force’s new waist-to-height ratio cutoff on annual physical fitness tests now have until at least the fall to comply before they can be punished.

The Air Force announced it would move away from its unpopular “tape test,” which graded troops on their waist circumference, in early 2023. It instead opted to compare that metric to service members’ height, arguing that it incentivizes healthy physical proportions rather than thinness alone.

Air Force to start tracking height-to-waist ratios in April

Airmen and guardians who fall short have a year to get fitter without punishment..

Though the department said it would implement the new test in April 2023, troops had until April 1, 2024, to meet the new standard. Air Force spokesperson Master Sgt. Deana Heitzman confirmed April 5 that the deadline was extended by at least six months because of a delay in writing the new instruction — pushing enforcement into October at the earliest.

An April 4 Reddit post revealed the delay, saying the instruction is expected to publish within 90 days of April 1 — June 30 with weekends and holidays, or Aug. 8 when excluding them. Heitzman declined to provide a specific release date for the new regulation.

Once published, the Department of the Air Force would start enforcing the new rule after 180 days. That could push its full adoption into the fall, or further into 2025.

Excess abdominal fat is associated with heightened risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other illnesses or injuries that could impact readiness.

The Air Force stopped including annual body circumference measurements in airmen’s PT test scores in 2020 amid worries that it was leading some troops to starve themselves. The new assessment still includes a measuring tape, but it is wrapped between the lowest rib and top of the hip bone — calculating the size of the smallest portion of the abdomen rather than the waist — then dividing that number by height in inches.

Nearly 70% of active service members are overweight, report finds

Obesity is often cited as one of the significant challenges to military recruiting..

Those with a waist-to-height ratio of 0.55 or more are considered high risk and can be referred to a yearlong exercise program and medical evaluation. Those who fail to meet the standard once enforcement begins could face administrative action, including separation for repeated failures.

Last year, the Air Force loosened its rules on body fat for new recruits as it struggled to bring in new airmen, a challenge made more difficult by a nationwide obesity crisis. Those recruits will be subject to the new waist-to-height standards as well.

Courtney Mabeus-Brown is the senior reporter at Air Force Times. She is an award-winning journalist who previously covered the military for Navy Times and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., where she first set foot on an aircraft carrier. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy and more.

In Other News

Return of horse-drawn caissons to Arlington National Cemetery delayed

The return of horse-drawn caissons at arlington national cemetery is being delayed for months and maybe longer, the army said friday..

Feds to make moving government jobs abroad easier for military spouses

The pentagon and state department will make it easier for military spouses to take federal civilian jobs overseas following a permanent change of station..

More US troops, equipment headed to Middle East amid Iranian threats

The pentagon is sending more troops and equipment to the middle east in anticipation of a possible iranian attack on israel..

Fewer Air Force captains promoted to major as competition stiffens

Nearly 2,000 airmen were chosen to rise to the rank of major in 2024..

Higher enlisted pay, full housing stipends included in new House plan

A new military quality of life improvement plan would include targeted pay increases for young troops and bigger housing stipends for families..

Jordan to temporarily close airspace, state media says

• Medium Text

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

Reporting by Adam Makary and Ahmed Tolba; Additional reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Barbara Lewis and Nick Zieminski

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

World Chevron

Several Iranian airports including Tehran's Imam Khomeini International have cancelled flights until Monday, Iranian state media reported on Sunday, as tensions flared in the Middle East with Iran's attack on Israel overnight.

An April 14 story about Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie was factually accurate but was not intended for publication at this time and had not been through the full editing process, and is withdrawn. There will be no substitute story.

Two people have been killed by Ukrainian strikes on the Russian-held parts of Ukraine's Kherson region, Russian-installed regional head Vladimir Saldo said on Sunday.