car seat requirements on airplanes

[Anonymous]

Has anyone heard of any requirements for car seats needing to have a hard sides in addition to a hard back and hard seat when flying on an airplane with a 2 year old? A flight attendant questioned our car seat during our return trip from Thanksgiving. We have a Sunshine Kids carseat which we purchased largely in part because it was travel friendly, and have never had any issues with it until this trip. I could understand needing hard sides for an infant car seat, but am not sure whether this flight attendant was just giving us a hard time or whether these requirements actually exist.

[Anonymous]

AFAIK, there are no particular requirements that the FA should vet; rather, all FAA-approved car seats need to bear a sticker announcing their status. If it's FAA-approved, you can use it for takeoff and landing; if not, you can't.

[Anonymous]

OP here-thanks!