Safety experts encourage parents to bring car seats on airplanes

SALT LAKE CITY — The next time parents take a flight with young children, safety experts want them to bring a car seat on the plane. It's one of the key topics at the Child Passenger Safety Conference on Wednesday in West Valley City.

The suggestion may come as a shock to a lot of parents, and a relief to others. Strapping your kid into a car seat on an airplane isn't something you see very often, but the Federal Aviation Administration strongly recommends it. It is, however, not required.

The call for car seats was echoed on Wednesday in West Valley City. Lia Tuso, a nationally recognized child passenger safety expert, spoke at the conference about the need for them to a crowd of hundreds of child passenger safety technicians. The event was held at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, organized by the Utah Highway Safety Office.

Tuso said while many parents assume the seat belt on the plane is "good enough," she tells parents that if their children use car seats in the car, they should use them in the air as well. She said 30 to 40 years of research backs that up.

"After tens of millions of dollars spent, and an international global environment of professionals, we know that irrefutably the safest thing for a child to do is use a car seat onboard the airplane," Tuso said.

Zero Fatalities, in partnership with the Utah Highway Safety Office, said there are a few things to consider: Severe turbulence has increased by roughly 55% since 1979. A 2019 study found "unrestrained lap children" are prone to in-flight injuries during turbulence or meal service, and federal crash testing has shown airplane seat belts don't prevent a child's head from hitting the seat in front of them.

If you want to look more into bringing a car seat on a plane, or see the full list of what the FAA recommends, visit the FAA's "Flying with Children" webpage.

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