UK plans free family seating and booking corrections

The UK government has announced plans to require airlines to seat children under 14 beside a parent or accompanying adult without charging extra, alongside free corrections of simple booking-name errors and a new system for sharing information about persistently disruptive passengers. The government has not established in the reports whether the seating and booking measures are already legally in force; legislation is progressing through Parliament, and ministers intend to introduce the measures before next summer’s holiday season. The Department for Transport says a parent and child can currently be charged as much as £104 for a return journey to sit together. That figure is a government estimate, and the reports do not establish how common charges of that size are. Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary disputed that such fees currently apply on UK airlines, saying there are no charges for children to sit with parents or for minor spelling changes to bookings. The government also plans to allow passengers to correct simple name errors without a fee. Reports say charges for minor corrections or administrative changes can reach £40.