‘They are supposed to do that’: Woman takes ‘airline-approved’ baby car seat on Frontier flight. Then a flight attendant grabs the seat—6-month-old and all
A woman went on a flight with Frontier Airlines only to have a shocking thing happen to her and her children. When a flight attendant came over to check whether her car seat was “airline-approved,” he inadvertently held it on an unsteady chair, nearly dangling the object over her other child’s head.
Gisselle Cruz (@gissellecruz57) decided to post the encounter to TikTok. Since then, her video of the incident has gotten 970,000 views. Many people urged the mother to make a complaint. Others chastised her for not helping the flight attendant find the manufacturing label sooner.
Cruz’s situation on a Frontier Airlines flight
Cruz went on a flight with Frontier Airlines, only to have a rocky boarding process. While trying to get settled with her children, a flight attendant came by to check whether her car seat was FAA-approved. Cruz let him check for the manufacturing label. However, things changed when he held the car seat up—with her child still inside it.
The situation appeared to escalate, as the flight attendant did not believe the seat was FAA-approved and could not find the FAA flight label. Cruz tried to tell him the label was a “bar-code,” but he still did not see it. He held the car seat on an unsteady chair while they looked for it with her.
“[The flight attendant] thinks that the car seat isn’t ‘airplane’ safe,” wrote one commenter. “And she [is] saying she doesn’t feel comfortable because he’s lifting the car seat while her [six] week old baby is in there.”
Commenters noticed that, while the flight attendant held the baby up, the car seat’s belt wasn’t buckled. “The belt isn’t even buckle[d] together,” said one commenter. “Regardless if he needed to check it or not, that is a massive safety issue. What if he dropped that baby?”
How do flight attendants check to see if car seats are FAA-approved?
Children are generally safer in a child restraint system (CRS) rather than flying in a parent’s lap, according to the FAA. That means, despite some claims that car seats aren’t necessary for kids under two, most carriers generally recommend bringing an FAA-approved car seat for young children.
Typically, flight attendants check these car seats to ensure they’re FAA-approved child restraint systems that conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. A flight attendant may lift up the car seat to check for a manufacturing sticker. These stickers usually state that consumers can use the seat on aircraft or motor vehicles. Then, the flight attendant checks to see if it’s installed properly. They gate-check the seat if needed while providing accommodating CRS.
Why did the Frontier flight attendant pick up the car seat with the child still in it?
Flight attendants may ask passengers to temporarily remove their children from the car seat so they can check the item’s manufacturing label. If a parent doesn’t remove the child, or if there’s any reason not to do so, they’ll lift the item with the child still strapped in.
Parents have the option to take their child out and hold them while a flight attendant handles the car seat. It’s unclear whether Cruz had the same option presented to her in this scenario. It’s also unclear whether the flight attendant fully described why he was holding the child up.
@gissellecruz57 #singlemoms #travel ♬ original sound – Gisselle1k
Commenters weigh in
Many commenters agreed with Cruz that the flight attendant handled her baby incorrectly. However, others criticized Cruz for how she approached the situation. Cruz recorded the encounter with the flight attendant. Still, to some, she made little attempt to actually move her children out of the way and let the flight attendant do his job.
Many other commenters had the same opinion, despite feeling that the flight attendant should have held the seat differently.
Other passengers looked less than amused by the situation, according to some commenters, making it an unideal start to a regular flight.
The Mary Sue has reached out to Frontier Airlines and Cruz for comment.
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