RoC-Oct2006
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Handbook of WMA Policies
World Medical Association R-2006-02-2006
WMA RESOLUTION
ON
CHILD SAFETY IN AIR TRAVEL
Adopted by the 57th
WMA General Assembly, Pilanesberg, South Africa, October 2006
1. Whereas air travel is a common mode of transportation and is used by people of all
ages every day;
2. Whereas high standards of safety for adult passengers in air travel have been
achieved;
3. Whereas strict safety procedures are being followed in air travel that greatly increase
the chance of survival during emergency situations for properly secured adults;
4. Whereas infants and children are not always guaranteed adequate and appropriate
safety measures during emergency situations in aircraft;
5. Whereas restraint and safety systems for infants and children have been successfully
tested to reduce the risk of suffering injuries during emergency situations in aircraft;
6. Whereas child restraint systems have been approved for usage in standard passenger
aircrafts and successfully introduced by several airlines;
Therefore, the World Medical Association
1. Expresses grave concern regarding the fact that adequate safety systems for infants
and children have not been generally implemented;
2. Calls on all airline companies to take immediate steps to introduce safe, thoroughly
tested and standardized child restraint systems;
3. Calls on all airline companies to train their staff in the appropriate handling and usage
of child restraint systems;
4. Calls for the establishment of a universal standard or specification for the testing and
manufacturing of child restraint systems; and
5. Calls on national legislators and air transportation safety authorities to:
a. require for infants and children, as a matter of law, safe individual child restraint
systems that are approved for use in standard passenger aircraft;
b. ensure that airlines provide child restraint systems or welcome passengers using their
own systems, if the equipment is qualified and approved for the specific aircraft;
c. ban the usage of inappropriate “Loop Belts” frequently used to secure infants and
children in passenger aircraft;
d. provide appropriate information about infant and child safety on board of aircraft to all
airline passengers.