Should car seats be required on airplanes? That’s what Transport Canada wants to find out as it goes through a public consultation period. The government says the current lap belts on planes aren’t suited to safely restrain kids under a certain weight and height. The use of car seats has been allowed on planes since 1990, but now the question is if they should be mandatory.
Right now, parents or caregivers traveling with kids under two-years-old have the option of holding them in their lap and not buying them a seat. However, if Transport Canada deems car seats mandatory, it would force parents to buy another seat. There has been at least one case of a child dying in a plane crash that was being held by a parent. It happened in 2012 and eight others on the plane survived the crash. After that crash, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada recommended mandatory seatbelts designed for kids.
Moose FM went to the streets to find out what Muskokans think about car seats on planes.
You can send in your thoughts on if car seats should be mandatory for kids under two on planes, and also how mandatory car seats would impact your flight to Transport Canada. The online discussion page will be open until the end of April.