Narrative:

The aircraft came in late at [night]. I reviewed the logbook. The last remain over night (ron) check was completed on three days prior. I reviewed the operating bulletin (ob) which states 'the airworthiness release has changed from a validity period of 72 hours to three calendar days; not to exceed 23:59 UTC of the third day.' I contacted maintenance (mx) control and spoke the supervisor. He stated that this aircraft was good until the following day. I disagreed as that was 4 calendar days after the inspection. He said no; that the aircraft was good as the first day did not count. My first officer (first officer) then referenced the MEL where they do not include the first day when counting the days allowed under the MEL. I then contacted the chief pilot on duty. I explained the situation and he agreed with mx control that the 3 days begin after the day of the inspection. While they may be right; I expressed my frustration that the ob did not correspond to what they were telling me and that the ob should be modified to reflect what I was being told. The chief pilot told me that this issue has come up a lot and that all of the other flights had departed based upon his and mx interpretation. I decided to operate the flight that evening. The flight crew who had brought the plane in would also had to deal with this situation. My first officer forwarded a union correspondence that he received that supported my initial determination that three calendar days is just that which includes the day of the inspection. Consequently; I may have flown the aircraft out of inspection as did the crew before us. I relied on the statements of mx control and the chief pilot in operating the aircraft. I still do not know what the correct status of the aircraft is in the eyes of the FAA and pilots should not be put into this position by the company.correct the operating bulletin to include the words 'not including the day of the inspection' or send out a memo that 3 calendar days includes the day of the inspection as indicated.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A320 Captain reported confusion related to the aircraft Airworthiness Release requirements and indicated that the company Operating Bulletin needed updating.

Narrative: The aircraft came in late at [night]. I reviewed the logbook. The last Remain Over Night (RON) check was completed on three days prior. I reviewed the Operating Bulletin (OB) which states 'The Airworthiness Release has changed from a validity period of 72 hours to three calendar days; not to exceed 23:59 UTC of the third day.' I contacted Maintenance (MX) Control and spoke the supervisor. He stated that this aircraft was good until the following day. I disagreed as that was 4 calendar days after the inspection. He said no; that the aircraft was good as the first day did not count. My First Officer (FO) then referenced the MEL where they do not include the first day when counting the days allowed under the MEL. I then contacted the Chief Pilot on Duty. I explained the situation and he agreed with MX control that the 3 days begin after the day of the inspection. While they may be right; I expressed my frustration that the OB did not correspond to what they were telling me and that the OB should be modified to reflect what I was being told. The Chief Pilot told me that this issue has come up a lot and that all of the other flights had departed based upon his and MX interpretation. I decided to operate the flight that evening. The flight crew who had brought the plane in would also had to deal with this situation. My FO forwarded a union correspondence that he received that supported my initial determination that three calendar days is just that which includes the day of the inspection. Consequently; I may have flown the aircraft out of inspection as did the crew before us. I relied on the statements of MX Control and the Chief Pilot in operating the aircraft. I still do not know what the correct status of the aircraft is in the eyes of the FAA and Pilots should not be put into this position by the company.Correct the Operating Bulletin to include the words 'not including the day of the inspection' or send out a memo that 3 calendar days includes the day of the inspection as indicated.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.