The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits babywearing carriers during aircraft takeoff, landing, and ground movement under regulation 14 CFR 121.311.b.1. The rule requires parents of infants under two years old to hold babies in their arms rather than using carriers, a requirement that has remained largely unchanged since 1995.
According to the source, the FAA’s justification traces back to a 1994 study comparing child restraint options. The study examined “booster seats, forward facing carriers, aft facing carriers, a harness device, a belly belt, and passenger seat lap belts.” However, the study evaluated car seats rather than babywearing carriers—the devices parents typically use during flight. The 1995 proposed rulemaking stated the FAA believed banned devices “may put children in a potentially worse situation than the allowable alternatives.”
The policy analyst who wrote the source argues this conclusion appears flawed because the study did not compare carriers against the most common current alternative: holding infants in a parent’s lap. The 1996 final rule acknowledged that lap-holding carries risks but did not test whether babywearing carriers would be safer during turbulence, crashes, or evacuations compared to arm-holding.
The FAA rejected approaches taken by the UK (CAA) and European aviation authorities (JAA, predating EASA), which permitted belly belts as providing “some measure of protection” compared to lap-holding. The FAA’s 1994 study found belly belts allowed test dummies to make “severe contact with the back of the seat” and children “may be crushed by the forward bending motion of the adult.”
In justifying the prohibition, the FAA considered potential behavioral effects, reasoning that mandating child restraints could prompt some families to choose less safe automobile travel instead of flying due to costs. However, the source notes the FAA did not appear to balance whether allowing carriers would shift parents toward second seats versus away from flying entirely.
In 2024, Representative Bill Posey introduced HR 8972, proposing to reconsider the babywearing carrier rule. The bill was referred to the aviation subcommittee and did not receive a vote. The source notes that while flying remains very safe even for unrestrained lap infants, the prohibition creates practical inconvenience, primarily waking sleeping babies.
Key facts
- The FAA ban on babywearing carriers during takeoff and landing dates to 1995 and is codified in regulation 14 CFR 121.311.b.1
- The 1994 FAA study that justified the ban tested car seats but not modern babywearing carriers
- The FAA’s 1994 study did not compare carrier safety against lap-holding, the most common alternative parents currently use
- Representative Bill Posey’s 2024 bill (HR 8972) proposing to reconsider the rule died in the aviation subcommittee without a vote
- The UK and European aviation authorities permit belly belts as providing protection compared to lap-holding, a stance the FAA rejected