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Consumer Group Petitions FAA For Airplane Seat Requirements

DENVER (CBS4) - A consumer group is pushing the FAA to set a limit on the number of seats on airplanes.

The only current requirement from the FAA is that an emergency evacuation must be able to happen in 90 seconds or less. There are no limits on how close rows of seats can be, or the size of seats.

A group called Flyer's Rights sent the FAA a petition with over 30,000 signatures. It calls for minimum seat size standards.

"It's a safety concern, particularly with evacuation, that hasn't really been tested for these small spaces. It's a health concern for blood clots. It's a security concern, when people are having disagreements and even fights about space," said Paul Hudson, president of the organization.

Most major airlines space their rows of seats 31 inches apart, from the back of one seat to the back of the one ahead of it.

Jet Blue, Southwest, and Virgin America have a little more than that.

Allegiant, Frontier, And Spirit offer the least, with as little as 28 inches of space and seats that do not recline.

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