European officials may look to standardise the distance between aircraft seats, or pitch, over fears about the speed at which passengers can leave aircraft in an emergency.
The seat pitch is a measure of the distance between a point in the headrest on one seat and the same point on the seat in front. Economy seats usually offer a distance of around 30 inches although some airlines provide just a 28-inch seat pitch.
The Daily Telegraph claims that the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) may ensure that aircraft have a minimum seat pitch before they can fly.
Worries were also expressed about the risk from deep vein thrombosis, were a blood clot develops, usually due to lack of movement, which can prove fatal.
Although European rules currently require an aircraft to be evacuated in under 90 seconds, there is no minimum seat pitch. A spokesperson for EASA said they were looking at “the possibility of changing the rules” so that airline manufacturers would have to provide a minimum space to be registered in Europe.
Budget airlines have seen the value of both offering just one class of seating, as well as ensuring they can squeeze the maximum space out of their aircraft to ensure the largest number of seats are taken.
EASA is currently in talks with aircraft manufacturers and national aviation authorities, with guidelines likely to be published in 2008.
