Government plans ban on airline child seating fees and booking tweaks
The government plans to ban UK airlines from charging parents to sit with children under 14 and to scrap fees for minor booking corrections, with changes expected by next summer.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
What is changing
The government has announced plans to stop airlines charging parents to sit with their children. Under the proposals, airlines would have to seat children under 14 with a parent or accompanying adult at no extra cost. Passengers would also be able to correct simple booking mistakes, such as a missing letter in a surname, without paying a fee. The government says the changes form part of the Civil Aviation Bill and should be in place by next summer or the summer holidays.
Why ministers are acting
The Department for Transport says a parent and child sitting together can currently cost up to £104 on a return journey. Simple name corrections can cost up to £40. Baggage fees are not included in the plans and will remain. The Prime Minister said charging parents to sit with their children is a rip-off and that hefty fees for simple changes are unacceptable. He said: 'People are fed up with these little charges that add up so I am putting a stop to them.' He added that the measures are everyday fixes meant to give people room to breathe by tackling small irritations that waste time and money.
Caveats and wider context
An expert said the UK is aligning with proposed changes to European air passenger rights rules. Without that alignment, there could be one set of rules for flights out and another for flights back. There is scepticism about how much families will actually save at checkout, partly because third-party travel agents are involved in some bookings. The transport secretary also announced new systems to help airlines clamp down on disruptive passengers.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| Airlines would be required to seat children under 14 with a parent or accompanying adult at no extra cost. | ||
| Minor booking changes, such as correcting a surname typo, would no longer incur fees. | ||
| Only on one channel | ||
| The Department for Transport said seating a parent and child together could currently cost up to £104 on a return journey. | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The measures are being discussed as part of the Civil Aviation Bill. | Not reported by ITV | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News framed the announcement as a cost-of-living-style consumer story, leading with holiday bills and the frustration of paying to sit together. Its correspondent stressed that baggage fees are unchanged, set out the Civil Aviation Bill route, and gave a summer holidays timeline. The item ended by asking viewers to email in their views.
- “The government are scrapping child seating fees and some of the unnecessary admin costs on flights.”
- “you can end up paying over £200 to make sure everyone's seated together”
- “This is what our everyday fixes are all about, giving people room to breathe by tackling the small irritations that catch people out, waste their time and cost them money.”
ITV1 ran a packaged report from Gatwick, focusing on the exact costs to families and the political context. It highlighted that the UK is following European air passenger rights changes and questioned how much travellers will really save, noting third-party agents. It also flagged a benefit for airlines on disruptive passengers, then moved to a separate Ryanair and NATS item.
- “The government is hoping that by next summer there will be a ban on UK airlines from charging parents or accompanying adults to sit with children aged under 14.”
- “What's happening here is that the UK realises it has to align with the proposed changes that Europe is making to air passenger rights rules.”
- “it remains to be seen how much of these savings actually transpire when it comes to checkout”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.