Move to stop charges for parents to sit by children on flights

At first glance, this is a simple story about family-friendly policy: no parent should have to pay a premium just to sit next to their own child at 35,000 feet. The £104 figure cited by the government gives a tangible sense of the burden on families, and the safety logic is hard to argue with — if a child is seated several rows away from a parent, who is responsible for them during turbulence or an emergency? For many families, sitting together isn't a luxury; it's a basic operational necessity of flying with children. But the airline perspective deserves a fair hearing too. Carriers operate in a fiercely competitive, low-margin environment, and seat-selection fees are a legitimate ancillary revenue stream that helps keep base fares lower for everyone. Forcing airlines to hold adjacent seats without charge could complicate seat inventory management, potentially reducing flexibility for other passengers or nudging costs elsewhere. There are also practical questions: how "young" must a child be for the rule to apply? How do airlines verify relationships at booking? And what happens to families who book through third-party agents? This proposal also sits within a broader political pattern. The UK government has shown increasing willingness to intervene in consumer markets — from energy price caps to banking protections — and this move follows that trajectory.