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Up to £104 just to sit beside your own child. That charge is going

Qurexa Editorial Team5 October 20266 min read 0 0
Up to £104 just to sit beside your own child. That charge is going

What happened

On 2 October 2026, the government announced that airlines will be required to seat children under the age of 14 with a parent or accompanying adult at no extra charge. At present, that can cost up to £104 for a return journey - money paid purely to sit next to your own child. A second charge is going too. Passengers will get greater flexibility to correct simple booking errors, such as a misspelled name, free of charge. That has previously cost up to £40. Both changes come through the Civil Aviation Bill, and take effect after the Bill receives Royal Assent, with work alongside the industry to make implementation swift and fair. No start date has been confirmed. Prime Minister Andy Burnham did not mince words: "Charging parents just to sit with their children is a rip-off, plain and simple." Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: "Parents should not have to feel the pinch just to sit next to their child on a flight." The consumer group Which? has campaigned on this for close to a decade, first raising the fee in 2018. Its travel editor, Rory Boland, said: "It's clearly unfair to force parents and children as young as three to pay an extra fee just to sit together." The announcement also noted a safety dimension: airlines logged more than 1,000 serious disruptive passenger incidents in 2025.

Why this matters

This charge has annoyed families for years, and not only because of the money. It worked by exploiting something parents cannot negotiate over. Any other passenger who declines to pay for seat selection gets a random seat and shrugs. A parent who declines risks being seated rows away from a three-year-old. That is not really a choice, which is what made the fee so effective and so resented. There is a safety argument as well, and it is the stronger one. Cabin crew are trained to manage emergencies on the assumption that an adult can help the child next to them - fitting their own oxygen mask first, then the child's, or getting them to an exit. A frightened child several rows from their parent is a problem for the whole cabin, not just that family. The more than 1,000 serious disruptive passenger incidents logged in 2025 belongs in the same frame. Anything that raises tension at boarding - arguments over seats, families asking strangers to swap - adds to the conditions in which incidents happen. The name-correction fee is smaller but worth noting. Charging up to £40 to change "Sara" to "Sarah" has little to do with cost and much to do with knowing the passenger has no alternative. Fixing it removes a trap that disproportionately catches older travellers and anyone booking on a phone.

What the evidence actually says

Several things need stating plainly, because this story has already been reported in places as though it took effect this week. It is not in force yet. The requirement arrives through the Civil Aviation Bill, after Royal Assent, with implementation worked through with the industry. The government's own page had a specific date removed to correct an error. If you are flying next week, the current rules still apply - so do not refuse to pay on the assumption you are protected. "Up to £104" is the top of a range for a return journey, not a standard charge. What you pay now depends on the airline, route and how many seats you need. Most airlines had already dropped the fee. Which? has challenged airlines over this for nearly ten years and pressured many into abandoning it. By the time of the announcement, Ryanair was described as the last major carrier still insisting parents pay to sit with their children. The law closes the door rather than opening a new one. "Children under 14" is the threshold in the announcement. It does not cover teenagers of 14 and over. And free seating with a child is not the same as free seat selection generally. You will still pay to choose a particular window seat or extra legroom.

Practical advice

Until the change is actually in force, these still apply: 1. Check in as early as check-in opens. Free allocated seating is usually assigned then, and families booked on one reference are often seated together automatically. 2. Book everyone on one booking reference. Separate bookings are the most common reason families get split up, and it makes any seating request harder. 3. Get the name right first time. Check spellings against the passport before paying. Most airlines allow a correction free within 24 hours of booking - fix it immediately if you spot an error. 4. Ask at the gate, politely and early. Staff can often reseat a family if they know before boarding starts. Asking a stranger to swap once everyone is seated rarely goes well. 5. If you are travelling with medicines, keep them in hand luggage, in the original labelled packaging, with a copy of your prescription or a letter from your GP or pharmacist. Hold luggage can go astray and cargo holds get very cold. If a medicine needs refrigerating, ask your pharmacist about a travel cool bag before you go, and check the rules for the country you are visiting - a few medicines that are routine here are restricted elsewhere. 6. Keep receipts for any fee you pay now. If a fee is later found to have been charged unfairly, evidence is what gets it back.

What to know

On 2 October 2026, the government announced that airlines will have to seat children under 14 with a parent or accompanying adult free of charge - a fee that currently reaches up to £104 for a return journey. Charges for correcting simple booking errors such as a misspelled name, previously up to £40, will also go. Both measures come through the Civil Aviation Bill and take effect after Royal Assent. No start date has been confirmed, so the current rules still apply to flights booked now. Consumer group Which? has campaigned on this since 2018, and by the time of the announcement most major carriers had already dropped the fee. The announcement also recorded more than 1,000 serious disruptive passenger incidents logged by airlines in 2025. For now: book on one reference, check in as early as possible, get names right, and keep medicines in hand luggage in their original packaging. Sources: Department for Transport, "Take off for passengers as government scraps extra charges when flying", 2 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/take-off-for-passengers-as-government-scraps-extra-charges-when-flying ; Which?, "How we took on airlines charging parents seat fees to sit next to children as young as three", 2 October 2026, https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/how-we-took-on-airlines-charging-parents-fees-to-sit-next-to-children-akf8D0a3QoGv ; ITV News, "Airlines to be banned from charging parents to sit next to their children", 2 October 2026, https://www.itv.com/news/2026-10-02/airlines-to-be-banned-from-charging-parents-to-sit-next-to-their-children This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. For flight bookings and refunds, check your airline's terms and the Civil Aviation Authority's consumer guidance.

#flights#airlines#family travel#consumer rights#seat fees#holidays

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