This practise is one further example of airlines putting profit before common sense. The policy will spectacularly backfire one of these days. There are numerous reasons why this policy is wrong:
1. First, it is morally wrong to separate children from their mother in such circumstances.
2. In an emergency evacuation this situation would cause a parent to be focussed on trying to find their children, potentially impeding the exit of other passengers and endangering others.
3. In a decompression, (which is rare, but happens sufficiently frequently that it is a serious consideration), the parent is responsible for ensuring that the child's oxygen mask is fitted. This should not be passed on to a stranger.
4. There is no-one to supervise the children which could cause discomfort to other passengers.
5. The children could be seated next to a paedophile and be sexually abused by another passengera.
The only reason this has started to happen is because airlines want to charge for the priviledge of "choosing your seat". If parents are exempt from this, it drives a coach and horses through their charging model. Ryanair in Europe have been very aggressive about this and insist that parents who want to be guaranteed to sit next to their children should pay. The cynic in me says that airlines are now so immoral their calculation is that they will make more money on charging for the seats than the compensation due when a passenger sexually abuses a child who has been forcibly separated from the protection of the parent.
|