Shrinking Airline Seats a Threat to Passenger Health and Safety; Blumenthal to Seek Action to Require Minimum Standard

(Hartford, CT) -- U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) announced today he will seek action to require minimum airline seat space—an effort to protect passenger health and safety amidst rapidly shrinking seat width and leg room.

The Federal Aviation Administration has not conducted tests to determine if passengers can safely evacuate from today’s increasingly cramped airplane cabins. Medical experts have also raised concerns regarding increased risk for blood clots and pulmonary embolisms due to lack of adequate leg room. There have been increased reports of passenger fights and disturbances triggered by such close quarters.

Blumenthal will file an amendment to the FAA’s reauthorization bill when it’s considered before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, on which Blumenthal sits. His amendment will require the FAA to adopt minimum seat space standards to protect the health and safety of passengers. He is also calling for a moratorium on any further shrinkage in seat space until such standards can be set. Further, he is calling on airlines to publicly disclose their seat size to passengers. Airlines have adopted minimum cargo space rules for animals, yet astoundingly have no such guidelines or regulation to protect human passengers.

“The incredible shrinking airline seat is more than an inconvenience, it is a serious threat to the health and safety of passengers that requires immediate FAA action. I am calling on the FAA to adopt minimum seat space standards, and to enforce a moratorium on further shrinkage of space until safe standards are adopted. Airlines and aviation authorities simply cannot say whether passengers can safely and swiftly evacuate from today’s cramped cabins. Medical experts have raised serious concerns about increased risk for deadly blood clots and pulmonary embolisms. Passengers themselves are so fed up that there have been increased reports of fights over seat space. We require minimum cargo space for traveling animals, yet inexplicably and inexcusably have no such measure to protect human passengers. A sardine may in fact enjoy greater protections than the flying public today. I am determined to work with Senator Schumer in protecting passengers from dangerously shrinking seat space despite skyrocketing airline profits,” Blumenthal said.

“When talking to travelers, the number one complaint I hear is shrinking legroom and cramped seats,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). “Consumers are tired of being packed into airplanes like sardines, and so, it’s time for the FAA to step up and stop this deep-seated problem from continuing. It’s no secret that airlines are looking for more ways to cut costs but they shouldn’t be cutting inches of legroom and seat width in the process. It’s just plain unfair that a person gets charged for extra inches that were once standard. To boot, the airlines are cruising on record profits, all while hundreds of passengers are crammed into smaller and smaller seats with less and less legroom. Requiring a standard for seat size and legroom should be a top legislative priority ahead of the upcoming FAA Reauthorization bill and I will work hard with Senator Blumenthal to make that case.”

"Consumers deserve to know whether the airlines' record profits are coming at the expense of passenger safety," said John Breyault, Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud at the National Consumers League. "Consumers aren't fish, yet the airlines seem determined to pack them in like sardines. It's time for Congress to step in and require minimum seat size standards to make sure that air travel remains safe for everyone, not just those who can afford to pay for a humane amount of legroom."

"We share the Senator's concern about shrinking airline seat room," said William J. McGee, an airline expert who works with Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports. "It's about more than just passenger comfort. There are serious health and safety concerns -- including the risk of deep vein thrombosis, and the risk that passengers won't be able to evacuate safely in an emergency. We agree this is a problem that needs to be addressed, and addressed now."

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