The Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed a new rule requiring airlines to seat children under the age of 14 with a parent or accompanying adult for no extra cost on all UK flights. The plans were announced on Friday, October 2, and will see extra charges scrapped across all airlines to help people with the cost of living.
End of hidden fees for families
According to the DfT, a parent and child could previously be charged up to £104 on a return flight to sit together. The new rules will also remove charges for minor mistakes on flight bookings, such as correcting name errors. Passengers can sometimes be charged as much as £40 to tweak the name on their booking, but these fees will also be scrapped to allow simple name changes for free.
While most UK airlines already offer protections against hidden costs, the Government said these new reforms will give passengers greater consistency on all airlines operating in the UK.
Government crackdown on "rip-off" charges
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the rule changes are part of a crackdown on the "little charges that add up" when families plan their holiday trips. It is thought the changes will be brought in ahead of next year's summer holidays.
MPs are in the process of debating a new set of rules for travel companies, as the Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill makes its way through Parliament. The proposed new law will give ministers a flexible power to draw up a list of passenger rights and a list of duties which both airlines and airports have.
Mr Burnham said: "Charging parents just to sit with their children is a rip-off, plain and simple. And being hit with a hefty fee for a simple spelling mistake on a booking form isn't right either. People are fed up with these little charges that add up, so I'm putting a stop to them. 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."
New system to tackle disruptive passengers
The DfT has also announced it is working with airlines and trade unions to create a new system for sharing information on persistently disruptive passengers. In 2025, more than 1,000 serious disruptive passenger incidents were logged by airlines, including a mid-air brawl that resulted in a flight being diverted, causing significant disruption to passengers and crew as well as costs for the airline.
The new system will make disruptors easier to spot, keeping staff and passengers safer from the get-go and enabling airlines to take decisions on whether to extend a ban on their airline.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander added: "Parents should not have to feel the pinch just to sit next to their child on a flight, or for amending a simple booking error. That's why we're scrapping these unnecessary charges for all airlines – another everyday fix to help put money back in people's pockets and give households more breathing room. And everyone deserves to travel knowing their flight isn't going to be disrupted by bad behaviour from a small minority. These common-sense reforms will make flying safer for staff and passengers and protect people from unnecessary charges, whoever they fly with."
