Airlines are cracking down on personal seat belt extenders, commonly used by bigger passengers on flights.
A plane seat can be uncomfortable enough for a larger passenger. Some airlines require bigger flyers to purchase more than one seat if they cannot fit in one. With plane airfare costing an arm and a leg, having to pay for an extra one is overly pricey and can be embarrassing,
Some passengers try to make themselves more comfortable by bringing their own seat belt extenders as seat belts are required to be worn on flights, but the belts don't always come one size fits all, no matter how adjustable they are. An extender can add several inches to a regular seat belt to give passengers some extra room while strapped in.
However the Federal Aviation Administration is reminding airlines that these personal seat belt extenders are not allowed on flights. Only those provided by the airline and approved by the FAA are permitted. Airlines provide these 25 inch extenders that are inspected and maintained under the Continuous Airworthiness Maintenance Program.
Some seat belt extenders may have a label saying that they're FAA approved, but the agency claims that most are not inspected and maintained, so they shouldn't be used. These uninspected extenders can become extended and provide less protection according to the FAA.
Larger passengers are not happy about the requirement. Many don't want to go through the inconvenience and embarrassment of asking for an extender from the airline. Airlines may also not have enough for everyone that requests one on a flight.
Some find the rules to be a bit ridiculous.
"The maintenance issue is kind of silly," says Tim Barry, a former pilot who describes himself as fat, according to AZ Central. "What do you maintain on a seat belt?"
Barry, president of Intelligent Technologies, which has sold thousands of extenders to passengers over the past decade recalled an issue in which an airline ran out of seat belt extenders on a flight out of Boston. Those who couldn't get the extenders and strap themselves in couldn't fly on the plane.
Amazon.com is one of the many sites that sells personal seat belt extenders. Some of them are FAA-approved and some are made for specific airlines. Their prices start around $37.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader