Is it safe to make groups/families sit apart from each other?

Some air companies allow you to select a seat for additional fee. Some go further and intentionally chose different seats for passengers travelling together.

Consider now travelling woman with her 12-13 y.o. child. What will be her behavior in case of emergency evacuation? Will she go to the nearest emergency exit or to her child? I think she will most likely do the last. And this behavior can be really dangerous to other passengers.

So, is it regulated somehow?

safety family

Best Answer

There are a few regulations towards passenger seating:

All passengers must have a designated seat with a seat belt.
Passengers cannot sit on seats designated for crews.
Minors, elderly or anyone else deemed unsuitable or unfit (by the cabin crew) cannot be seated in an exit row.

There are no other obligations or regulations or rules that airlines must follow with respect to seating of passengers.

The other rules such as "seats must be upright and tray tables stowed" and that you cannot put carryon luggage on the exit row are towards the safety of the aircraft, and it is enforced even if no one is sitting on the seat.

Therefore, it is perfectly fine for an airline to seat people randomly and charge for preferred seating. Although airline staff try (for the sake of harmony inside the aircraft and to make the lives of the crews easier) to seat families together, but this cannot be guaranteed.