In September 2013, a few weeks before the US Government shut down for 16 days, former flight attendant and plane crash survivor Jan Brown started an online petition. The petition charged the FAA to mandate that children under the age of 2 be retrained in an appropriate child safety seat on all commercial aviation flights – for the safety of everyone on board. Her petition gained wide-spread attention and support when YAHOO! News ran this story on September 17, 2013:
Lap kids on planes must be banned for everyone’s sake
For Brown, who has spent 24 years lobbying, speaking and testifying before Congress on this issue, it’s been a personal battle. Brown was chief flight attendant on United Flight 232, a disabled DC-10 that crash-landed in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1989 killing 111.
Unfortunately, less than 2 weeks after that news story ran, our government came to a screeching halt and that was the demise of Brown’s petition – along with a lot of other important business. Now, 12 months later, a new petition has been started and once again we are sharing the information and asking our readers to consider signing it and sharing it within their social networks. Link: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/charge-faa-mandate-children-under-age-two-be-restrained-faa-approved-child-safety-seat-planes/ZqgGZ6QK
“Dear Friends & Safety Advocates,
We have created a White House petition in hopes of achieving 100,000 signatures in the allotted one month’s time. The FAA is controlled by OMB (Office of Management & Budget) and OMB is controlled by the White House, so it appears to be the strongest route to eliminating lap children on airplanes and making everyone from baby to paying passengers safe…and allowing flight attendants to offer safety for all passengers not merely the ‘select’ over the age of two! Please take a few minutes to sign the petition that can be reached at: http://wh.gov/ilY8c. If you do not have a White House password it will ask for your e-mail address, name and zip code…there is an opt-out box to check if you do not want White House e-mails and your name will not appear on the petition, only your initials….so your privacy is not compromised and the President will not be calling you [http://cdn-cf.aol.com/se/smi/0201d20638/02] . But this is where every vote counts and I am eternally grateful for your support particularly since I never imagined advocating for child safety for 25 yrs. I do want to live to see it happen!
Hugs of Thanks,
Jan Brown
For more info on the subject of flying with kids and carseats please see our previous blogs on the subject:
Recommended Carseats for Airplane Travel
Lap Babies on Airplane – A Warning All Parents Must See
Flying with a Car Seat? Know Your Rights!
Flying with Kids & Carseats – the checked carseat controversy
Airplanes, Carseats, and Kids—What You Need to Know
Will this also require airlines to provide a certain number of unique child seats on planes. Airline travel is a part of daily society, and making it more unaffordable is propagating the inequality gap. I agree with increased child safety, but there should be a balance on price.
This is a good idea for the safety of the child if and only if the airline is forced to provide the seats, however it will force families to stop taking vacations due to the ungodly price of airline tickets, and probably bankrupt several airlines.
Thanks for the heads-up – One link wasn’t working properly but I fixed it. You should be able to click on the full link I posted, or the picture of the petition, or the link in Jan’s message and all 3 should take you to the petition. Let me know if you continue to have a problem. Thanks!
oops. I wasn’t paying attention and thought this was the petition. I can’t get to the appropriate link either.
Please help educate parents and society on the best practice of keeping our kids and other airplane passengers safe. By making this a mandated law you will help save lives and reduce injury of not only the children passengers but of everyone else in the plane. It’s all physics. Plus, having restrained children in flight will make them more comfortable, and thus make everyone else’s ride more enjoyable.
IT wont let me go to the link