Flying With Children
Flying With Children
Flying With Children
with children
When flying with children, always contact your airline
or its National Aviation Authority to ensure that you have
all the information you need.
The main questions to focus on are summarised here:
OR
For Children (aged more than 24 months and less than 12 years)
• Child is secured on an aircraft seat using the standard aircraft seat lap belt;
OR
Several studies have concluded that the use of a child seat for both infants and
children provides a level of safety equivalent to that provided to adult passengers.
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How to use a child seat on board
• Check that your child seat is approved for ‘use in aircraft’. There will be a label/text on the child seat and the
manufacturer’s manual will contain instructions as to how to install it on an aircraft seat. This can be different than
the installation in your car. Carry the manufacturer’s instructions with you on your flight so the cabin crew can
check the correct installation method.
• Consult your airline. Most airlines include information and tips on travelling with infants and children on their
websites. Use of a child seat, even if it is approved for aircraft use, is at the discretion of the airline and depends
on its policy. Your airline will provide you with all information you need.
• Contact your airline to check whether your child seat is acceptable for use on board. Remember to check whether
the width and height of your child seat will fit the aircraft seat and to enquire about the procedures for its use on
board.
• Ask the airline whether it provides child seats on board. EASA has certified an infant/child seat known as ‘Child
Restraint System (CRS)’ suitable for infants and children up to 18 kg in weight or 100cm in height. It can be installed
in forward-facing and rear-facing positions and on oblique-facing seats.
• Window passenger seat is the preferred location for use of a child seat. Other locations may be acceptable
provided the child seat does not obstruct passenger access to the nearest exit. The number of child seats per seat
row depends on the airline’s policy.
• Keep the child seat secured to a passenger seat during all phases of flight, unless it is properly stowed when not
in use.
• If the child seat can be reclined, it needs to be in an upright position whenever passengers are required to fasten
their seat belts.
• Avoid installing your child seat on a seat next to the aisle or in a seat/row leading to an emergency exit. The child
seat should not be located in a row immediately forward or aft of an emergency exit.
• Don’t attach the child seat on a passenger seat equipped with an airbag or in the area of airbag deployment.
Countries outside the European Union may have different rules on infants and
children. Consult your airline before your flight.
3
Child seat options
Car & Aircraft use
Booster seat-cushion
A booster seat-cushion cannot be used in aircraft.
4
Other devices
Aircraft use only
For other individual medical seating aids, contact your airline or your National Aviation Authority.
Baby Bassinet
Please visit EASA’s website for more frequently asked questions on the subject.
5
Child seats accepted by EU rules
EU child seat
This child seat must have two approval markers:
• Label ECE R44-04 (the last two digits must be 03 or 04 or a higher number) or the label ECE R129,
and
• Qualification sign* attesting that the child seat is approved for use in aircraft. This qualification sign is issued by an
organisation conducting testing of child seats for use in aircraft. The technical standard must be acceptable to the
airline and to its National Aviation Authority.
(*) There is no regulation governing the appearance of this qualification sign or whether it should be a label, another mark or a sentence in the
manufacturer’s instructions. If in doubt, check the manufacturer’s instructions. Alternatively, contact the National Aviation Authority or the child
seat manufacturer.
OPTION 1 OPTION 2
(UN) ECE R44-04 and Qualification sign (UN) ECE R129 and Qualification sign
‘For Use in Aircraft’ ‘For Use in Aircraft’
Picture: ECE R44-04: The shape and colour are for illustration purposes only. Picture ECE R129: The shape and colour are for illustration purposes only.
Reference: Regulation No 44 of the Economic Commission for Europe of Reference: Regulation No 129 of the Economic Commission for Europe of the
the United Nations (UN/ECE) – Uniform provisions concerning the approval United Nations (UN/ECE) – Uniform provisions concerning the approval of
of restraining devices for child occupants of power-driven vehicles (‘Child enhanced Child Restraint Systems used on board of motor vehicles (ECRS).
Restraint Systems’).
Examples of qualification signs issued by TÜV Rheinland Kraftfahrt GmbH in accordance with TÜV/958-01/2001: the
older version of the label may contain the word ‘Tested’ or ‘Geprüft’. The new version contains the term ‘Certified’
or ‘Zertifiziert’. Information on child seats qualified for use in aircraft:
https://www.tuv.com/landingpage/en/manufacturer-of-child-seats/index.html
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Child seats from outside EU
USA
Child seat approved for use in motor vehicles and in
aircraft according to US FMVSS No 213 must bear one
or two labels displaying these two sentences (the text is
usually merged on one label):
‘This child restraint system conforms to all applicable
federal motor vehicle safety standards’
and
© Copyright of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 2019. ‘This restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and
aircraft’ - this sentence is in red letters
Canada
NADA Child seat approved in motor vehicles and in aircraft
CA according to the Canadian technical standard CMVSS
213/213.1 and bearing the Canadian National Safety
NSVAC
CMVSS
000 Mark:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/en/services/aviation/
TR reference-centre/advisory-circulars/ac-605-003.html#s4_1
A N SP O RT
© 2019 National Safety Mark, The Government of Canada. The reproduction is a copy of
the version available at www.tc.g c.ca
https://www.aviation.govt.nz/passenger-information/
cabin-safety-for-passengers/child-restraints/
The above options are non-exhaustive. A child restraint device* can also be certified for use in aircraft by EASA
according to the European technical standard ETSO-C100c or through EASA Type Certificate or Supplemental Type
Certificate. These two options are however more relevant to child seat manufacturers, airlines and National Aviation
Authorities who can obtain more information from the EASA Certification directorate.
The parent may have a child restraint device* manufactured and tested according to technical standards other than
those listed in the above options. Those other technical standards must have equivalent safety requirements and the
product (the child restraint device) should be marked with a qualification sign showing the name of the qualification
organisation and the identification number related to the associated qualification project. The qualification organisation
and the child restraint device need to be acceptable to the airline and to its National Aviation Authority.
If you have a child seat or a child restraint device and you are not sure to which
category above it belongs to, contact your airline or its National Aviation Authority.
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Did you know?
The airline is responsible for the safety of all passengers and the passenger is responsible for his/her infant/child.
Before the airline establishes a policy on the number of infants or children that can accompany one adult person, the
airline considers many aspects such as evacuation, decompression, turbulence, how seats are arranged in the aircraft,
the age of the child and the ability to understand and physically respond to instructions, and whether you (as the
guardian) have the possibility to reach and help your infant/child in an emergency. Therefore following the airline’s
instructions is necessary.
Let’s #haveasafeflight
© Copyright of European Union Aviation Safety Agency 2019. All rights reserved.