Kid Safety: Why Airlines Should Install Child Restraints For Babies

Traveling by air is stressful enough but most parents would agree that traveling by plane with an infant in tow can be overwhelming. Most airlines provide free passage for babies under two years but this could mean hours of inconvenience for the parents who have to hold the baby on their lap the whole time.

Parents are concerned not just for their comfort but also for the safety of their child while on the plane. Australian planes provide infant supplemental seatbelts to ensure the child's safety during the flight. Not all airlines, however, provide this safety feature.

Transport Canada and the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority do not require their airlines to provide a child-restraint system, according to The Australian. Airlines in the other regions provide an expensive option for parents concerned about their kid's safety when traveling by plane. Parents can buy another ticket that entitles the baby to another seat where the airline attaches a child-restraint system.

Despite the laxity of the rules on the provision of a child-restraint system for kids, the International Air Transport ­Association agree that this system should be in place to ensure child safety when flying. Consumers can also help establish stringent laws on child safety by putting on the pressure to some airlines that do not provide a child-restraint system.

A government-approved child-restraint system or CRS is the safest place for a kid when riding on an airplane, as per the Federal Aviation Administration. This is especially true when it comes to unexpected turbulence as the parent's arms are not capable of securely holding the child during this time. The government has approved the CRS for use not only in airplanes but also in motor vehicles.

More than 90 percent of airline crashes today can be survived by passengers, according to Forbes. This is made possible by modern aircraft interiors and aircraft design structures. These enhancements, however, offer limited benefits if the passengers are not properly restrained. The safety of children should be ensured by using a child-restraint system, even for kids under two years old.