NO LAW REGULATES HIGH TEMPERATURES IN AIRPLANE CABINS

Every day, tens of thousands of U.S. 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 allow the mercury to hit 90 degrees — and federal regulations cover air flow and, generally, passenger safety and comfort.

But authorities don’t say how hot is too hot when a plane sits — 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” before they were allowed off briefly and then reboarded. She and the baby eventually were taken away by ambulance.

The FAA declined to comment cabin temperature rules. And it expects airlines to “take appropriate action if a cabin temperature condition occurs on the ground that could potentially affect passenger safety.” The Associated Press

AFP file A 1930s photograph shows U.S. aviator Amelia Earhart, who vanished in 1937 on a globespanning flight.