Most airlines require children aged two and over to have a passenger seat of their own anyway, so a car seat will provide additional safety and comfort, particularly on long flights. However parents should always check with the airline regarding what car seats they allow, as they may have specific standards (see below), and size restrictions.ДЄn approved car seat is fastened to a normal passenger seat, and can hold very young babies who use it вЂrear-facingвЂ™, then forward-facing, as they grow. Many parents may already have a car seat that can be used on an aircraft. These children would also be better protected in the event of severe turbulence or an accident, if they used a car seat appropriate to their height and weight when they travel on aircraft. Car seatsД¬hildren under 20 kg (approximately 4 years) use car seats when they travel in a car. It's been proven that you're not capable of holding onto your child during heavy turbulence, so consider one of the options below. Some overseas airlines don't allow the use of a loop belt, but do allow you to hold the child on your lap. But some countries have different rules to New Zealand over the use of Supplemental Loop Belts, so check with all the overseas airlines you intend travelling on. The Supplemental Loop Belt stops the child being bumped from the adultвЂ™s lap during heavy turbulence. The seat belt is fastened around the adult, and the Supplemental Loop Belt is then separately fastened around the infant/child who sits on the adultвЂ™s lap.

This is a device providing an additional seat belt with a stitched loop through which the adult lap belt is passed. The Supplemental Loop Belt prevents the infant being bumped from the adultвЂ™s lap during heavy turbulence.ДЄirlines allow infants, up to the age of two, to sit on a parentвЂ™s lap using Supplementary/Supplemental Loop Belt. What is allowed in New Zealand? Supplemental or Supplementary Loop Belt In the meantime, here are the options for flying within New Zealand. Keep an eye on this webpage for updates on the issue. Ideally, children should be in a seat of their own, held in an approved restraint. International crash studies indicate that there are safer options than the Supplemental Loop Belt in the event of severe turbulence, or an accident.

New ZealandвЂ™s Civil Aviation Rules require that, as a minimum, a child or infant is held by an adult, with the child or infant secured by a safety belt attached to the adultвЂ™s safety belt (вЂSupplemental Loop BeltвЂ™ вЂ“ see below). We're re-examining how best to secure babies and children during flight, following research by ICAO. In comparison, restraint methods in vehicles have undergone regular improvement. The method of carrying and restraining infants and small children has not significantly changed since the beginning of passenger-carrying flights. Ideally, every child has a seat of their own with some sort of robust restraint system.

Child restraint systems for planes