ANA’s Plans to Stop Babies From Crying on Flights
Carly Zinderman October 06, 2017
One of life’s irritations is flying with a screaming baby onboard. It’s annoying for passengers and sounds like it’s not much for babies either. Now, Japanese airlines are looking to help out their smallest passengers by conducting studies to make sure that all flyers are happy.
All Nippon Airways and three other Japanese companies used special equipment developed by NTT and Toray to determine babies pulse and mental and physical condition before the wailing starts.
Using devices attached to the babies’ chests and connected to smartphones, the parents were able to see signs of fussing before they got out of hand. They would then have the babies drink a liquid through a straw and cup to help alleviate ear pressure.
Pain from ear pressure on flights is common for flyers of all ages, especially during takeoff and landing. Because babies and small children can’t help but feel pressure many families with little ones refrain from flying until kids are a little older.
It also explains why very small children make up only a very small part of airlines’ passengers. ANA reports that passengers under the age of three are roughly 1.6 percent of their passengers.
34 families took part in the joint study and the procedures were said to have gone well.
