Government blocks family seating charges

The UK government will prevent airlines from charging parents extra fees to sit alongside their children on flights under new regulatory plans.

Name change fees also banned

Passengers will no longer face charges when altering a name on their flight booking to rectify an error, as part of the same crackdown.

Burnham calls it a rip-off

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said charging parents to sit with children is unfair, and the measures target the small charges that accumulate for families.

“Charging parents just to sit with their children is a rip-off, plain and simple.”

Children under 14 get free seating

Airlines will be required to seat children aged under fourteen next to their parents or an accompanying adult free of charge under the new rules.

Current costs reach one hundred four pounds

According to the Department for Transport, an arrangement to sit together can currently cost a parent and child up to one hundred four pounds on a return journey.

Ryanair previously charged eight pounds

Ryanair required parents with children aged two to eleven to pay for mandatory family seats, typically about eight pounds each way, until the CMA launched an investigation.

Crackdown on disruptive passengers too

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced a new system for sharing information about disruptive passengers, allowing airlines to ban persistently disruptive travellers from their aircraft.