Sun, Dec 12, 2010
Union Says It Has Advocated That Position For 20 Years
Participating on the Aviation Child Passenger Safety panel at
the NTSB's forum on child passenger safety Thursday, AFA-CWA
International President Pat Friend reiterated the union's
longstanding call for separate seats and restraints for passengers
less than two years of age.
"As flight attendants, we are required to secure all items in
the cabin, galley and lavatories; from carry-on bags to coffee
pots. We do this because we are trained that in an emergency loose
items can be dangerous if flying through the cabin. A lap
child has the potential to be one of those 'loose items' that may
not only suffer serious injury themselves but also injure others,"
said Friend.
NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said in her opening remarks
that the forum marked the beginning of a year-long effort by the
Board to promote child passenger safety across all modes of
transportation. "Safety for our smallest travelers should not be
considered optional or a luxury," said Chairman Hersman.
For over 20 years, AFA-CWA has advocated for the mandatory use
of child restraints in aircraft and supported the NTSB's
recommendations that the Federal Aviation Administration require
all infants and small children use safety seats during takeoff,
landing and turbulence. Unfortunately, the union contends, the
FAA's decision to continue allowing children under the age of two
to be held on a parent's lap gives many parents the false
impression that this practice is safe.
Patricia Friend
"To achieve one level of safety for our most venerable
travelers, we must develop a strong regulation and couple it with
adequate monitoring and enforcement. It is through agencies like
the NTSB making recommendations aimed at protecting children from
death and injury in transportation-related crashes that the
traveling public has a slightly increased awareness regarding the
need to protect infants and small children," said Friend.
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