Why there are no baby seats on flights

If you’re a nervous flyer then you’re going to want to pay attention because there is a very interesting reason why there are no baby seats on planes and it will likely calm your nerves about flying in the future.

Pilot and author Patrick Smith told Reader’s Digest all about the level of safety you can expect if you’re travelling by a plane.

“Is traveling with a baby in your lap safe? No. It’s extremely dangerous,” Smith says.

“If there’s any impact or deceleration, there’s a good chance you’re going to lose hold of your kid, and he becomes a projectile,” he says.

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While this doesn’t sound too reassuring yet, trust us, it’s about to get better.

“But the government’s logic is that if we made you buy an expensive seat for your baby, you’d just drive, and you’re more likely to be injured driving than flying.”

Smith is absolutely right, the most recent global airline safety report found that there were 90 commercial plane accidents in 2013, only nine resulting in fatalities. 

That might sound like a lot, but in 2012 more than 34,000 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents, making it much more likely for someone to be killed while driving than by taking a flight.

The baby seat is proof that you’re much safer up in the air than you are in a car on the ground. Think about that the next time you get the jitters about getting on a flight to help calm your nerves.

Do you have any other ways of calming your fear of flying jitters? Let us know about them in the comments section below.