Families flying from the UK are set for a rule change that removes one of the most resented extras in air travel: paying to guarantee you're seated beside your own child. Under the Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill, airlines will be required to place children under 14 next to a parent or accompanying adult at no extra cost, with ministers aiming to have the measures in force before next summer's holiday season.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham framed the move as part of a wider push against "little charges that add up" when families book trips. A second target is the fee airlines often levy to correct a typo in a name on a booking — that will be banned too, so a spelling mistake won't cost you a rebooking-style charge.
The scale of the problem is real. The Department for Transport says guaranteeing a parent-child seating pair can currently cost up to £104 on a return flight. Consumer group Which? Travel has been blunt about it, arguing that separating children as young as three from their parents unless a fee is paid puts profit ahead of passenger peace of mind.
The pressure has already shifted industry behaviour. Earlier this year, following a CMA investigation, Ryanair scrapped its "mandatory family seat" charge — typically around £8 each way for parents of children aged two to 11. Under its revised policy, parents can still pay to pick a specific seat, but children will be seated with them free if they don't. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary, never one to concede gracefully, noted the trade-off: families who don't pay may have to wait until check-in for seat allocations and could end up at the back of the plane.
There's a second strand to the reforms too. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced work on a system for airlines, government and trade unions to share information about disruptive passengers, whose serious incidents topped 1,000 in 2025 by government count — including one mid-air brawl that forced a diversion. Repeat offenders could find themselves banned by carriers.
Why it matters: if you're flying with kids from a UK airport, the default should soon become sitting together for free, rather than paying a stealth fee or gambling on check-in. Keep in mind that paying for seat selection remains optional — if where you sit really matters (long-haul, specific cabin position), that's still a choice you can buy. The name-change fix also removes a classic catch when a passport name doesn't quite match a booking. Watch the bill's progress through Parliament if you're booking a family trip for next summer; the protections are expected to be live before the peak season starts. Full story via The Independent Travel.
