American Cabin Crews Still Confused About Child Seat Regulations, FAA Investigates

The latest incident of a flight attendant improperly stopping parents from using an approved child seat has earned scrutiny from the FAA.

It has been less than a year since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) found that American Airlines cabin crews were, in at least one case, guilty of improperly prohibiting parents from using child seats on flights, even after purchasing tickets for their children, but it seems the airlines have still not gotten the message.

The FAA is again investigating American Airlines crew for refusing to allow a mother to place her daughter in an approved child safety seat.

The FAA has campaigned and published guides encouraging parents to use child safety seats for small children when flying and the agency’s regulations specifically require US airlines to allow parents to place their children in FAA-approved child seats if a seat has been purchased for the child, but Forbes aviation columnist John Goglia has reported on a number of incidents over the last year at American, United and Delta Airlines in which parents were ordered to hold their children in their laps rather than use the devices recommended by the FAA.

In the latest case, currently being probed by the FAA, the flight attendant involved is said to have mistakenly told a former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) staffer that she was required to hold her daughter rather than use the approved safety seat. The mother, Jenny Creek and her one-year-old daughter who live in Washington, DC, had used the child seat on earlier American Airlines flight that day, but Creek was unable to convince the cabin crew that the seat was not only allowed but recommended by the FAA.

“The issue has been addressed directly with the flight attendant to ensure future compliance with all policies and procedures,” an American Airlines spokesperson told Forbes about the latest incident.

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