The Devastating Reality of Airlines Seating Children Separately from Families

It happens all too often for families across America: certain air fares won't get you a seat assignment, and many consumers think they'll be able to sort things out once they get to the airport. However, when they arrive, they're shocked to discover that their child has been seated away from them. This can happen even if they have paid extra for seats together, leaving parents to scramble to find a solution. In some cases, it's too late or too expensive to upgrade, and the only option is for one parent or caregiver to stay behind while the other continues on to their destination.

This creates a safety issue for all passengers on flights, as children are often left without a trusted adult to care for them. The consequences can be dire, with some airlines seating children as young as three and two years old separately from their families. Even one-year-olds have been known to be seated alone, leaving parents to worry about their child's well-being.

Consumer Reports has long spoken out against this practice, testifying before Congress in an effort to push for change. The organization believes that airlines are prioritizing profits over passenger safety and well-being, and that it's simply unacceptable. In response to Consumer Reports' efforts, the Department of Transportation was asked to step in and address the issue. However, so far, they have refused to do so.

Directly contacting the airlines has also yielded little result, with many continuing to seat children separately from their families despite mounting evidence of the dangers involved. It's not just parents who are concerned – caregivers and other family members are also worried about the safety and well-being of these young passengers. In fact, some have reported that they're so concerned that they'll even skip a flight altogether if they can't sit with their child.

One of the most disturbing aspects of this issue is the guarantee of chaos during emergency evacuations. When children are seated separately from their families, it's impossible to ensure that the children will be able to get out of the plane safely and quickly enough in case of an emergency. This puts them at risk for injury or even death.

Furthermore, seating children away from their families also puts them at risk for in-flight sexual assault. The FBI has reported a significant number of cases involving this type of abuse, and it's clear that airlines have failed to take adequate steps to protect these young passengers.

In fact, many of the 600 complaints submitted to Consumer Reports dealt with issues related to sexual assault and other forms of abuse. While not all of these incidents were directly related to seating arrangements, they do highlight the broader problem of airline negligence when it comes to passenger safety. It's clear that parents and caregivers are concerned about being able to sit with their child on a flight – in fact, many have reported that if their child can't be seated near them, they'll even skip a flight altogether.

Airlines do have strict policies on unaccompanied minors, but these policies are often contradictory to the needs of families. For example, some airlines don't allow children under a certain age to travel as unaccompanied minors, despite parents being able to purchase seats together. This means that if one parent is in row 12 and their six-year-old child is in row 18, the airline won't consider them an unaccompanied minor.

This is precisely the kind of situation that Consumer Reports has been trying to highlight. When people hear about a three-year-old being given a seat assignment away from their parents, it's clear that they're shocked and outraged. The organization hopes that this issue will finally get some attention and that airlines will be forced to take action.

In recent months, Consumer Reports has started a petition to push for change. So far, the organization has collected over 125,000 signatures in support of their efforts. While it's still early days, Consumer Reports is committed to continuing to pressure the Department of Transportation and airlines to address this issue.

Ultimately, the goal is simple: to ensure that all children are able to travel with their families without fear of being separated or harmed. It's a basic human right, and one that should be protected at all costs. As long as Consumer Reports continues to push for change, there remains hope that airlines will finally take steps to prioritize passenger safety and well-being over profits.

Forwarding Complaints to Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports has been inundated with complaints from families who have had their children seated away from them due to airline policies. In recent months, the organization has forwarded 136 of these complaints to its team for analysis.

The results were horrifying. Cases included those where children as young as one and two years old were seated alone, while others involved children being separated from their parents due to changes in seat assignments or flight schedules. It's clear that many families are struggling to navigate the complexities of airline policies when it comes to child travel.

While some airlines may claim that they're doing everything possible to accommodate families, the reality is that these policies often prioritize profits over passenger safety and well-being. As Consumer Reports has long argued, this approach is unacceptable and must be changed.

The Importance of Following Up

In recent months, Consumer Reports has made efforts to follow up on some of the issues raised by families who have had their children seated away from them. The organization believes that it's essential to keep pushing for change until airlines finally take steps to prioritize passenger safety and well-being over profits.

One of the key areas of focus is ensuring that airlines are taking adequate steps to protect young passengers during emergency evacuations. While some airlines may claim that they're doing everything possible, the reality is often far from it. By continuing to push for change, Consumer Reports hopes to ensure that all children can travel with their families without fear of being separated or harmed.

As long as consumers continue to speak out and demand better from airlines, there remains hope that these policies will be changed. The future of family travel depends on it.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enit happens all too often for families across America certain air fares won't get you a seat assignment but a lot of consumers think they'll be able to sort things out once they get to the airport then they realize they have the wrong kind of ticket and it's too late or too expensive to upgrade so the parents and sometimes even a toddler will have to sit apart this creates a safety issue for all passengers on flights that's why Consumer Reports testified before Congress to push for change the airlines in their quest to collect ever more fees and nickel-and-dime passengers have believe it or not seated children as young as three and two and even one years old separately from their families we have reached out to the Department of Transportation Congress asked the Department of Transportation to step in so far they have refused to do so we've reached out directly to the airlines they have yet to change their policies and so we started a petition here at Consumer Reports so far we have over 125 thousand signatures and we're going to continue to put pressure on the department transportation and on the airlines to address this because it's simply unacceptable so we're eager to speak to Congress about it vot finally forwarded 136 complaints to us we analyzed those complaints and were horrified to find cases with children as young as one two and three years old assigned seats away from family other children were artistic suffered seizures or had life-threatening nut allergies such policies also guarantee chaos during emergency evacuations and put children at risk for in-flight sexual assaults which the FBI says arising how many of the 600 complaints in your testimony dealt with sexual assault in particular many of them men raised the issue we did not have an actual case cited to us repeatedly we heard from parents and caregivers that they were concerned about it in some cases they said if my child is not going to be sitting near me we're not going to take this flight the airlines have very strict policies on unaccompanied minors they don't allow children under a certain age to travel as unaccompanied minors for all intents and purposes if I'm the parent and I'm in row 12 and my six-year-old is in row 18 that child isn't unaccompanied minor you can't compare the threat of a child being assaulted to damaged luggage well I think we were heard it really is kind of shocking when you see people's faces when you say a three-year-old was given a seat assignment away from their parents so I think we caught their attention on this issue and hope there's some good follow-up youit happens all too often for families across America certain air fares won't get you a seat assignment but a lot of consumers think they'll be able to sort things out once they get to the airport then they realize they have the wrong kind of ticket and it's too late or too expensive to upgrade so the parents and sometimes even a toddler will have to sit apart this creates a safety issue for all passengers on flights that's why Consumer Reports testified before Congress to push for change the airlines in their quest to collect ever more fees and nickel-and-dime passengers have believe it or not seated children as young as three and two and even one years old separately from their families we have reached out to the Department of Transportation Congress asked the Department of Transportation to step in so far they have refused to do so we've reached out directly to the airlines they have yet to change their policies and so we started a petition here at Consumer Reports so far we have over 125 thousand signatures and we're going to continue to put pressure on the department transportation and on the airlines to address this because it's simply unacceptable so we're eager to speak to Congress about it vot finally forwarded 136 complaints to us we analyzed those complaints and were horrified to find cases with children as young as one two and three years old assigned seats away from family other children were artistic suffered seizures or had life-threatening nut allergies such policies also guarantee chaos during emergency evacuations and put children at risk for in-flight sexual assaults which the FBI says arising how many of the 600 complaints in your testimony dealt with sexual assault in particular many of them men raised the issue we did not have an actual case cited to us repeatedly we heard from parents and caregivers that they were concerned about it in some cases they said if my child is not going to be sitting near me we're not going to take this flight the airlines have very strict policies on unaccompanied minors they don't allow children under a certain age to travel as unaccompanied minors for all intents and purposes if I'm the parent and I'm in row 12 and my six-year-old is in row 18 that child isn't unaccompanied minor you can't compare the threat of a child being assaulted to damaged luggage well I think we were heard it really is kind of shocking when you see people's faces when you say a three-year-old was given a seat assignment away from their parents so I think we caught their attention on this issue and hope there's some good follow-up you\n"