The FAA will publish the draft rule in the Federal Register in November, and the public will have 60 days to provide comments. After the comment period closes, the FAA will review all comments before publishing a final rule. Eventually.
Commercial balloon pilots are now exempt from the medical requirement. In the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, Congress directed the FAA to revise the medical certification standards for commercial balloon pilots. The draft rule also addresses a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendation that the FAA remove the exemption.
