Nursing a baby in an airport is about to become easier following the passage of the Federal Aviation Administration Act on Oct. 5. The law requires all large- and medium-sized airports to provide public lactation rooms, improving access to safe, sanitary places for parents to nurse or pump while traveling.
The bipartisan measure was led by Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who made history as the first senator to give birth while in office. Senator Duckworth and Republican Representative Stephen Knight of California first introduced the Friendly Airports for Mothers (FAM) Act in 2017 to ensure airports offer appropriate facilities for breastfeeding and expressing milk.
Duckworth described her personal experiences with breastfeeding on the road in an opinion piece for Cosmopolitan, explaining that although she felt comfortable nursing in public, she did not want to have to express milk beside strangers charging their devices or be redirected to a restroom. In that piece she wrote that on several trips she was forced to pump in a bathroom stall.
“We would never ask our fellow travelers to eat their sandwiches in a bathroom, but there I was, expressing milk for my child on a toilet seat,” she reported, highlighting the indignity and lack of suitable options many parents face at airports.
Before the new law, airports could choose whether to open lactation rooms, and while some facilities offered them, many airports did not provide adequate, private, and convenient spaces. The updated legislation establishes clear standards for where lactation rooms must be located within terminals, the level of privacy they must provide, and other basic requirements to ensure they are safe and usable.
By setting minimum standards and requiring public lactation spaces at larger airports, the law aims to remove barriers for nursing parents who travel, making air travel more family-friendly and respectful of basic caregiving needs. These changes should lead to more consistent, accessible options nationwide, reducing the stress and discomfort parents previously experienced when trying to feed or express milk while away from home.
Airports will now need to plan and implement compliant lactation rooms that meet the law’s privacy and cleanliness criteria, helping normalize supportive facilities for breastfeeding and pumping in public transportation hubs. This policy shift recognizes the importance of accommodating caregivers and promotes a more inclusive travel environment for families.