After recent bouts of severe turbulence, flight attendants are calling for a ban on babies on their parents’ laps.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) union, which represents more than 50,000 flight attendants from 20 different airlines, is demanding that all passengers have their own seat on a flight, regardless of age, for security reasons.
Most airlines currently allow children under the age of two to travel for free on their parent’s or guardian’s lap.
However, the AFA-CWA union argues that it is unsafe and has been a concern of flight attendants for decades.
The union raised the issue at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety summit in Northern Virginia last week and submitted its list of priorities which includes the request that everyone have a designated seat.
The request comes after a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt from Austin, Texas had to be diverted to Dulles International Airport in Virginia, just outside Washington DC, after experiencing turbulence majors.
AFP
Seven people were injured and taken to hospital, while an infant was thrown through the air. Due to the turbulence, his mother was unable to hold him.