'A rip-off, plain and simple': Airlines face crackdown on family seating fees and 'unnecessary' extra charges

Published: 03:54 EDT, 2 October 2026 | Updated: 04:11 EDT, 2 October 2026 Airlines will be required to seat children under the age of 14 with a parent or accompanying adult free of charge, under new Government plans announced today.Currently, a parent and child could be charged up to £104 on a return journey.However, following a recent Government decision to scrap child seating fees and unnecessary administrative costs, holidaymakers could look to save money on their next family trip.Passengers will also be given greater flexibility to correct simple name errors on bookings for free, ending unfair and irritating charges – sometimes as much as £40 – for minor mistakes or admin tweaks.While most UK airlines already offer protections against hidden costs, these new reforms will give passengers greater consistency on all airlines operating in the UK.Prime Minister Andy 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.' The UK Government has announced that parents will no longer be charged extra to sit with their children on planesThe Government 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 said: '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.'It comes the day after the Government’s VAT cut on electricity bills kicked in on October 1, saving households a further £45, as part of a bigger plan to restore fairness to family finances and give people room to breathe. Prime Minister Andy Burnham described extra admin fees as a 'rip-off'Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: 'It’s clearly unfair to force parents and children as young as three to pay an extra fee just to sit together. Airlines that have separated families are putting profit ahead of passenger peace of mind.'Which? has successfully pressured many airlines into dropping these fees over the past 10 years, so it’s welcome to see the Government taking firm action on this by outlawing these charges completely and finally putting an end to this rip-off.'It is also positive to see greater flexibility to amend simple mistakes, protecting consumers from unnecessary charges.'The move also comes as regulators and lawmakers in the UK and Europe take a tougher stance on air passenger rights. The Government’s changes will mean UK and EU rules line up more closely, giving passengers greater certainty.