UK Government Moves to Ban Charges for Parents Sitting With Children on Flights

Parents in the UK could soon be spared the expense of paying extra to sit beside their children on flights, under new measures the government says it will pursue if Parliament grants the necessary powers. The Department for Transport confirmed the plan as part of the broader Civil Aviation Bill, which ministers hope will clear its parliamentary stages and receive Royal Assent.

At the heart of the proposal is a consultation on eliminating seating charges for families travelling with children under the age of 14. The government also intends to examine fees attached to correcting small errors on flight bookings, such as a misspelled name. According to departmental figures, sitting together can currently cost a parent and child as much as £104 on a return trip, while fixing a minor administrative mistake can set a passenger back up to £40.

The announcement forms part of what the government describes as a wider effort to stamp out hidden costs that quietly inflate the price of a family holiday. Ministers argue that while many UK carriers already provide protections against such charges, the reforms would bring greater consistency across every airline operating in the country.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham framed the changes as a direct response to the small, frustrating fees that pile up when families organise their travel. He described charging parents simply to sit with their children as a rip-off, and said being penalised heavily for a simple spelling mistake on a booking form was equally unreasonable. His office characterised the measures as the latest in a series of "everyday fixes" aimed at easing the irritations that strain household budgets.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander echoed that sentiment, saying parents should not feel financially squeezed just to remain beside their child during a flight or to correct a straightforward booking error. The department presented the reforms as a matter of fairness, arguing that families should not be treated as a revenue stream at the point of booking.

The airline industry responded with a measure of surprise. Trade body Airlines UK said it had not expected the announcement, noting that its members already permit minor name corrections at no cost. It also pointed out that UK carriers follow the regulator's existing guidance on seating children under 12 alongside their accompanying adult. The industry's stance suggests a gap between the government's portrayal of widespread problems and the protections airlines say are already in place.

Consumer advocates, however, have long argued that the current safeguards fall short. Rory Boland, editor of the consumer magazine Which? Travel, said it was plainly unfair to force parents and children as young as three to pay an extra fee merely to sit together. He accused airlines that separate families of prioritising profit over passengers' peace of mind, a criticism that has surfaced repeatedly in recent years as cheap base fares have been offset by add-on charges for seats, bags and other extras.

The seating issue gained wider attention after Ryanair was investigated over its practice of charging parents to sit with their children. That scrutiny helped push the question of family seating onto the political agenda, and the current proposals effectively extend the pressure from individual cases to the entire sector.

Beyond seating and booking corrections, the Civil Aviation Bill contains provisions for a new information-sharing system focused on persistently disruptive passengers. The government says the scheme would be developed in cooperation with airlines and trade unions, creating a coordinated way to flag individuals whose behaviour repeatedly causes problems on flights.

The department cited figures from 2025 showing that airlines logged more than 1,000 serious disruptive passenger incidents during the year. These ranged in severity, including a mid-air brawl that forced a flight to be diverted. Alexander said everyone deserved to travel knowing their journey would not be disrupted by the poor behaviour of a small minority, framing the measure as a protection for the majority of well-behaved travellers and for cabin crew.

Airlines UK said it welcomed the commitment to crack down on disruptive passengers, signalling that this element of the package enjoys broader industry backing than the seating proposals. The trade body's support may help smooth the passage of those provisions even as it questions the need for intervention on family seating.

All of the changes are contingent on the Civil Aviation Bill securing Royal Assent. Once that happens, ministers are understood to be aiming to bring the measures into force before the start of next summer's holiday season, a timeline that would allow families to benefit during the peak travel period. Whether that deadline can be met will depend on the pace of parliamentary scrutiny and the subsequent consultation process.

For families, the practical effect could be significant. A return journey that currently adds more than £100 to the cost of travelling with a child could become substantially cheaper if seating fees are scrapped. Similarly, the removal of charges for minor booking corrections would eliminate a source of frustration that often strikes at the worst possible moment, when travellers are rushing to finalise plans.

The reforms also raise broader questions about how airlines structure their pricing. Low headline fares have become a hallmark of the budget travel model, with ancillary charges for seats, luggage and administrative changes helping to generate revenue. The government's intervention suggests a shift in how far regulators and politicians are willing to let that model extend, particularly when it touches on families and children.

Consumer groups are likely to press for the strongest possible version of the rules during consultation, while airlines will seek to shape the detail to reflect what they say are existing practices. The outcome will determine whether the measures deliver the consistency ministers promise or simply codify protections that many carriers already provide.

For now, the proposals remain a statement of intent. Their fate rests with MPs, the parliamentary timetable and a consultation that has yet to begin. But the direction of travel is clear: the government wants to be seen to be taking on the small charges that families encounter, and it has chosen airline seating and booking corrections as its next target.