Do Conjoined Infants Need Two Seats?

Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 10.04.07 | 11:33 AM ET

First Delta said yes. Now it says no, and the 1-year old Bailey twins of Queen Creek, Arizona will soon be traveling with their parents to Baltimore without the need for an extra seat. According to the Arizona Republic, Delta made the change after a reporter from the paper got wind of the story and called the airline.

Delta’s difficulty in figuring out how to seat the twins is understandable because, as the Republic’s Lars Jacoby writes, the situation “isn’t covered in the airline ticket agent’s policy manual.” The Federal Aviation Administration also says it’s never come across a case like this.

The twins are conjoined “from the clavicle to the sternum and share a chest cavity and heart,” writes Jacoby. However, the twins each have their own lungs. Delta initially believed the twins each needed access to oxygen masks in the case of emergency. However, according to an FAA spokesperson, the airline only nees to ensure there’s “enough oxygen for each passenger carried.” The FAA also says “that a child under the age of 2 can be held by an adult on the adult’s lap.”

So the twins are set to travel to Baltimore on their parents’ laps. However, their parents are worried about the return trip. They will be flying home separately, and the changed dynamics may be a factor. “It’s a very unique situation that we’re going to have to work with the customer to resolve,” said a Delta spokesman.

Photo by xersti via Flickr (Creative Common).