The US Congress is considering a new Bill that will address the issue of overcrowding on aircraft.
While airlines may be looking to recover income lost during the COVID pandemic, Congress has said that this should not come at the expense of passengers’ safety.
According to Travel Pulse, Congress will consider the Emergency Vacating of Aircraft Cabin (EVAC) Act due to concerns over airline safety, especially for disabled passengers who may have difficulty exiting the aircraft.
The Bill has been sponsored US Senators Tammy Baldwin and Tammy Duckworth, who wrote to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ask the agency to take real-life conditions into account to ensure that all types of passengers could safely evacuate in an emergency. Baldwin and Duckworth have also asked the FAA to consider the height and weight of passengers and the seating configurations.
According to Business Insider, the FAA is supporting the Bill and has solicited public opinion on whether the seat size on aircraft has created safety issues. More than 26 000 commenters have said this is a factor.
"It is my belief that much of the acting out by airline passengers is at least in part attributable to the severe overcrowding on airplanes,” wrote one traveller.
"When people are so crowded that they cannot comfortably move without bumping or annoying someone else, they get tense and angry. I am elderly and can no longer fly unless I pay extra for extra seat room. No one except airline shareholders likes this situation," wrote another passenger.
Other comments drew attention to the potential for hip or knee injuries caused by a lack of space between seats, while many also mentioned height and weight as factors that made flying uncomfortable.
