To thnk that airlines should not allow lap babies on flights?

[Frannyhy]

I’ve not flown for a few years, so I don’t know if lap kids are allowed by all airlines. I’m in South America at the moment, on a big trip.

My flight between cities was delayed yesterday due to bad weather. There were a lot of hot, tired people by the time we got on.

I was in the aisle seat and a woman with a baby arrived and indicated she was in the same row. I got up for her and she said something I didn’t understand and waited. Finally, she reluctantly sat in the middle seat with the baby on her lap. Her partner appeared from the other end of the plane and gave her some baby stuff.

She started complaining to the cabin crew, pointing at my seat. By now I understood she wanted to be in the aisle. I said no, and one of the cabin crew said to me in English, “Don’t worry we haven’t got time for this, we’re already an hour late. It’s only a 90 minutes flight so she can manage.”

I’m left wondering why lap babies are allowed on flights. He wasn’t restrained so if anything had happened, it would have meant he probably would have been seriously injured or worse.

I was on a cheap flight so I don’t care that I had to sit next to a wriggling baby. I just ignored him and read my book.

But I do think allowing babies on laps should be stopped. It’s fucking dangerous.

But isn't that what the ovehead locker is for?

I had 20m ds on my knee for a 3 hour flight to & from Spain, was fine going but on the return flight exh & half the plane had food poisoning with only 1 toilet working, it was a night flight & exh had an unfortunate accident due to the queue for the toilet. Half the plane felt sorry for me & took turns cuddling & playing with him, the cabin crew must have made a fortune in commission because everyone was buying perfume & aftershave to block out the awful stink. The minute we landed & got our bags I sent exh to change his clothes& bin what he had flown in. I would never fly with Ryan Air again after the state of the plane.

Not sure if this has been said because I haven’t read all comments but two years ago we flew transatlantic with a 21 month old on lap and belts to attach to your own belt were not offered/supplied. First time I’ve ever know this.

What an odd post on mumsnet. Not the asking abut the safety of a baby on a flight but your overall tone.

Young babies have restricted time in a car seat so no use unless for a short flight

The highest risk stages of flight are take-off and initial climb, followed by descent > landing..

That's about 30-40 min total, regardless of whether it's a shorthaul or long haul flight.

I don't think anyone is suggesting keeping an infant imprisoned in a car seat for multiple hours on a Longhaul flight but the data gathered over the years consitently points to the car seat option being the safest one for infants.

If olive oil is made from olives and nut oil is made from nuts what do they make baby oil with?

Surely they should be safely stored in overhead lockers, out of the way of everyone?

..of course I’m jesting. A tiny baby in
arms can’t be flopping about in its own seat, with limited head control.

I'm guessing the mother next to you did have one of the harnesses on that attached her belt to the baby, perhaps you didn’t notice it x

Parents lap is probably the safest place is anything bad happens. I'd guess it's not like a car where a collision is the highest risk, I'd think evacuation was more likely, which would be more efficient with baby on lap rather than faffing about undoing a car seat. A baby on a normal seat alone would be stupid, they'd just be falling off it.

I mean, a seat belt isn't doing much to save you when the plane goes down anyway..... but also- what alternative do you propose? A 3 month old lolling about in its own seat? For an hour and a half flight, you should've done the decent thing and swapped with her

@JLou08

I'd guess it's not like a car where a collision is the highest risk, I'd think evacuation was more likely,

You've got to come through the events that lead up to the evac in good shape before thinking of evacuating, and the dynamics of many survivable aircraft incidents/accidents that lead to an evacuation can be very similar to a high speed car accident.

which would be more efficient with baby on lap rather than faffing about undoing a car seat

It's just a case of undoing your belt and the latch on the infant's harness...which is the same as as you'd have to do if you needed to get yourself and your infant out of a car in a hurry...

Why is it fucking dangerous? I hate to break it to you, but if the plane crashes being brained by a flying baby is the least of your worries. Apart from that, no more danger to anyone than a baby perched on its mother’s knee at home.

I'm going to stick a link to a pdf copy of a long research paper on child restraints and safety

Now I'd really strongly caution opening it if you are sensitive to the topics such as accidents and injuries but it might help show how seriously this is taken and studied, and that some of the opinions expressed such as child seats have been shown to be the safest option aren't just being pulled out of thin air..

www.easa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/dfu/Final%20Report%20EASA%202007.C.28.pdf

im the opposite.

In case of emergency I want (other peoples) babies & children in the aisle seats & evacuated first.

i care more about them than myself or random adults 🙇🏻‍♀️

kids safe FIRST.

The nice thing to do was for parent of the baby to actually pay for a seat like the op did and not expect other people to give up their seat that they have taken time to go online and book! I'm scared of flying so always book the isle seat as it's the one I prefer, I have been asked many a time to swap to window seat so a parent can sit with their child, it makes me mad, I have 3 kids and always paid extra to have them near me and would be mortified to expect someone else to give up their seat because they are so entitled they couldn't be bothered to do what the rest of us do and pay!

Sorry, but the problem is that as a policy is the potential for slowing the whole evacuation down and worse case increasing the total number of serious injuries or even loss of life..

FWIW if you are dealing with an emergency landing that might lead to an evac on landing the cabin crew might even select suitable adults to go out of the doors first to assist at the bottom of the slides.

The issue is not the baby in her lap. It’s her wanting to take your seat!

Ex airline myself. Obviously when adukts can help/ste. Needed at the bottom you send some first 🙄.

im not sacrificing kids lives so some selfish knob goblin can go ahead of them just because she wants to & thinks kids should be sacrificed

Yep I get that but as you'll obviously know with your previous if there's a call to evacuate you can't start triaging by age, lining up women or children first or playing "no, no, after you"...

Give up the bone!

That's not what I said. I was simply replying to a poster that wanted to throw all babies & children to the wolves by making a regulation that they're put in the window seats so they don't hamper her exit. I find the attitude deplorable, I wasn't writing aviation guidelines.

i don't appreciate your tone of disbelief about my airline background either.

It’s like a Labubu but a Lapbaby

They usually give a seatbelt for the baby. Do you suggest for example, if they have family far away, they shouldn’t travel to see them for years? My parents in law can’t travel, fortunately we can take the train abroad, but if they were in a neighbouring country, you suggest they still shouldn’t have met our baby?

What a wonderful restriction you’d like to bring in 🙄 I hope if you have children people have this attitude with you. You are being ridiculous.

This is true about the seat though

Your too nice 🤣🤣🤣

Where do you think babies should go? The overhead cupboards?? Or maybe in the hold with suitcases?