US: No one rule applies on how hot is too hot on an airliner

Every day, tens of thousands of US airline passengers settle into their seats, lower the window shades and reach up to twist the air vents without the benefit of something that might do even more to keep them cool: a rule setting temperature limits inside the cabin. Airlines have their own guidelines — some allowing the mercury to hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) — and federal regulations cover air flow and, more generally, passenger safety and comfort. But nowhere do authorities say how hot is too hot when a plane is sitting on the ground — a fact illustrated this summer when a mother holding her beet-red infant had to plead to be let off a broiling regional jet stuck on the tarmac at Denver International Airport. Emily France said she and her 4-month-old son, Owen, sweltered aboard the 50-seat "oven with wings". She and the boy were taken away by ambulance. Doctors determined the baby suffered no lasting effects. France said she hopes federal regulators take note, and she has hired a lawyer who specializes in airline safety law. He is demanding an explanation. "There is no reason why heat bad enough to cause people to pass out is happening in cabins," said the attorney, David Rapoport. Authorities have heard complaints for years about stifling heat aboard airliners, though the FAA does not keep track of how many. The FAA declined to comment on the need for specific rules on cabin temperature when a plane is on the ground. But the agency noted in a statement that it specifies how many pounds of fresh air planes must pump through the cabin per minute and per passenger.<br/>