Flight Fees

In coverage on 2 October 2026, Sky News and ITV1 reported that the government had announced plans to stop airlines charging parents or accompanying adults to sit with children on flights. The plans would require children under 14 to be seated with a parent or accompanying adult at no extra fee. Sky News said the measures were being discussed as part of the civil aviation bill, and both channels indicated the changes were intended to be in place by next summer or the summer holidays. Passengers would also be able to correct simple name errors on bookings without a fee. ITV1 reported that the government says such corrections can currently cost up to £40. Sky News said baggage fees would not change. ITV1 reported that the government hopes a ban on UK airlines charging for children under 14 to sit with an adult will be in place by next summer. It cited the Department for Transport as saying that a parent and child sitting together could currently cost up to £104 on a return journey. ITV1 reported that Prime Minister Andy Burnham described charging parents to sit with their children as a rip off and said a hefty fee for a simple spelling mistake was not right either. Sky News also reported the Prime Minister calling the seating charge an absolute rip off and said he described the measures as part of everyday fixes. ITV1 reported an expert view that Europe is leading on the issue and that the UK would need to align with proposed changes to European air passenger rights rules to avoid different rules for outward and return flights. ITV1 also noted skepticism about how much consumers would materially save, partly because of third party travel agents, and said the transport secretary announced new systems to help airlines clamp down on disruptive passengers. Sky News reported the Prime Minister linked the flight measures to wider action including local bus fares capped at two pounds and action on subscription traps.

Key Claims by Channel

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.
The Prime Minister described charging parents to sit with their children as a rip off and said people were fed up with small charges that add up.	Reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Only on one channel
The measures are being discussed as part of the Civil Aviation Bill.	Not reported by ITV
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
ITV1 named the Prime Minister as Andy Burnham.	Reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The Prime Minister said a hefty fee for a simple spelling mistake on a booking form was not right.	Reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Baggage fees would not change under the plans.	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
An expert view reported by ITV1 said Europe is leading on the issue and the UK would need to align with proposed changes to European air passenger rights rules to avoid different rules for outward and return flights.	Reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The transport secretary announced new systems to help airlines clamp down on disruptive passengers.	Reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The Prime Minister linked the flight measures to wider action including local bus fares capped at two pounds and action on subscription traps.	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Concerns were raised that consumers may not make significant savings, partly due to third-party travel agents.	Reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News

This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.