I’ve been on plenty of flights where the “Fasten Seatbelt Sign” was on, the passengers were told not to use the restroom, and they got up - even lining up - to use the lavatory anyway. As legalistic as flight attendants can be, I think even they understand that the bowels and bladders communicate powerfully.
My WAG is that it’s not the size of the storm, but simply, that many airline pilots keep the Fasten Seatbelt sign on simply as default. They err on the side of caution, and would rather leave it on than off. (Maybe as insurance in case they are sued if there is clear air turbulence and some passenger flies up and hits the ceiling)
I usually fly United, and sometimes American.
I’ve seen flight attendants lock the restrooms doors before takeoff and landing (after making sure nobody is inside).
Several years ago I was looking at some vintage airline ads online dating from around the 1930s and 40s. The were touting times like New York to Miami in “only” 8 hours. The most memorable one advertised flights to Rio de Janeiro taking 3 days! I would imagine that was still fast compared to taking a steamship.
I used to fly a lot, maybe once a month, for work and family visits. During one flight, I really had to go, but the seatbelt sign was lit. A flight attendant tried to reseat me, but I got her off my back by saying “Don’t worry, I take responsibility for my own actions” as I shut the bathroom door.
I mean, really. Airplanes are a lot like boats…everything narrow and tight, partly on purpose, so there’s always something within reach to steady yourself. It’s really no big deal to walk around when it’s bumpy. Flight attendants to it continuously! So why not an able-bodied, experienced traveler?
Airplane turbulence can be more than a little bumpy. It can be the plane suddenly dropping tens of feet. Which will mean that if you’re not bolted to the floor, you get thrown around the cabin. You’re not going to be able to steady yourself by grabbing the seat backs when that happens.
Now, that’s pretty rare, but that’s the reason they want you to stay in your seat with your belt fastened. They’re not that worried about you tripping. They’re worried about you becoming a projectile.
That said, I’ve been on plenty of flights where people got up to use the bathrooms when the fasten seatbelt sign was on. When you gotta go, you gotta go.
If this was in the U.S., it’s against federal law to ignore lighted placards and/or crewmember instructions.
IANAL, but I’d bet that “when you gotta go, you gotta go” is NOT a valid defense under said law.
Sure, if they want to prosecute you they might have the law on their side.
OTOH, they might prosecute you stay in your seat to just drop your pants and pee in a bottle or on a towel/diaper, e.g. indecent exposure or something.
OTOOH, they might get on your case for creating a biohazard if you keep your pants on and just pee right on your seat.
A smart flight attendant might consider all of this and (hopefully) decide that the course of action with the least bad publicity is to relent and let you use the bathroom despite the lighted placards and risk of turbulence-related injury. Of course the particularly flight attendant you deal with on any given day might not be a smart one and might deny you the use of the bathroom without suggesting any reasonable alternative.
This. “I take responsibility for my own actions” is all well and good, but if you injure another passenger because you get thrown off your feet by unexpectedly severe turbulence, then you’re also taking responsiblity for having injured someone else.
As iamthewalrus says, it’s rare, but it does happen:
I’ll take the chance justifying after we get on the ground. If it’s that bad that I have to defy lawful authority, what are the options? Pee (or worse!) one’s pants?
This. There are a few incidents a year in which commercial aircraft have encountered turbulence that was bad enough to inflict major injuries on some of the passengers. There have also been a handful of incidents over the years in which passengers were killed. AIUI, death is typically due to head/neck injuries sustained when the plane is suddenly forced downward by turbulence, causing unbelted passengers to hit their heads on the ceiling.
I’d bet even more that it’s impossible to find a jury to convict someone for walking to the bathroom on a plane while the seatbelt sign is on. Especially if any of them have ever been on a plane.
A lot of things are technically against the law but effectively never punished because laws are incredibly difficult to write perfectly.
I’d be surprised if you can find even one person who’s been prosecuted just for going to the bathroom when the seatbelt sign was lit. Extra surprised if they were convicted.
This article discusses the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of using the bathroom when the sign is lit. They can’t give you permission, but they’ll often tacitly allow it if it’s not really that dangerous. So go, and if they stop you, go back to your seat.
Serious question: Why do they allow infants to ride on an adult’s lap? Isn’t there a risk that the child will become a projectile?
Because if they did it the other way around, there’d be a risk that the child will become squashed?
There’s a fair chance the parent (who should be belted in) will have a grip on the kid. Even if they don’t, an unbelted infant bouncing around the cabin won’t do much harm to other passengers. The most injurious turbulence event, AIUI, is when the plane is suddenly accelerated downward by a downdraft more quickly than gravity can pull the people down; that’s when unbelted passengers can smack their heads on the ceiling. Lateral turbulence does happen, but it’s not nearly as violent as vertical turbulence can be.
Which airline? It seems very unlikely for a western airline. We can’t get clearance for take-off until we call “ready” and we can’t call ready until the cabin is secured, ie all passengers seated. Having said that, I have had situations where we have been in the queue behind several other aircraft waiting to enter the runway and have had a flight attendant ask permission for passengers to get up and use the toilet.
Good question. Apparently US airlines don’t require the use of infant lap belts. Many other airlines around the world do though, they look like this:
It doesn’t have to be a storm and it usually isn’t a storm that creates turbulence at cruise altitudes. Turbulence at high altitude is often caused by changes in the wind velocity around jetstreams, and can stretch for thousands of miles.
I don’t know for sure, but I expect that it’s not a high risk due to the fact that you’re going to be holding on pretty tight in the case of turbulence and balancing that relatively low risk against the distress and discomfort that the infant and everyone in earshot would experience if they had to be strapped into their own seats the whole time.
I think the rationale is that if it’s more expensive for families with babies to fly, some of them will just drive, and adding another car to the road is way more dangerous than putting a loose baby on a plane.