Planes are being turned into DEATH TRAPS because airlines are squeezing in too many seats, report warns
US non-profit group Flyers Rights argues that newer economy class seating may not provide adequate room for evacuation in an emergency
EVERYBODY grumbles about shrinking legroom and seat size on planes - but we put up with it because we like the budget fares.
But it turns out the battle to cram as many passengers into the Economy cabin as possible could prove fatal.
A new US report has declared that new slimline seats and tighter rows are turning aeroplanes into death traps.
has reportedly examined “over 900 pages” of documents from the US Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and concluded that newer economy class seating sections may not provide adequate room for evacuation in the case of an emergency.
The report follows a lawsuit filed in the United States by American non-profit group Flyers Rights, which claims the average width of standard economy seats is shrinking.
The Daily Beast uncovered new information on the US Court of Appeals and its ruling that the “densification” of economy seating on newer aeroplanes presented “a plausible life-and-death safety concern” for passengers.
The court concluded the FAA was relying on outdated studies when arguing that no new evacuation tests were necessary to determine safety standards in more modern, cramped aircraft.
For instance, that neither Boeing nor the FAA has released the evacuation data for the newer “and most densely seated” models of the Boeing 737.
It said: “The tests carried out to ensure that all the passengers can safely exit a cabin in an emergency are dangerously outdated and do not reflect how densely packed coach class seating has become — or how the size of passengers has simultaneously increased."
Flyers Rights claims the width of a standard economy seat in America has decreased from an average of 18.5 inches to just 17 since the early 2000s.
The space between an economy seat back and the one in front of it — also called the “pitch” — has also shrunk, from an average of 35 inches to 31 inches. And on the shortest end, the pitch in some planes is only 28 inches.
Paul Hudson, the president of Flyers Right says that as a result, passengers can no longer adopt a proper bracing position in the event of an emergency - calling economy airline seating “a Titanic waiting to happen.”
The FAA told the Daily Beast that seat pitch “in no way” has an effect on their evacuation and safety tests.
But according to the website, a judge had already dismissed that argument as making “no sense.”
The court has reportedly given the FAA until December 28 to respond to its ruling.
A version of this article originally appeared on .