Move to ban airlines charging parents extra to sit next to children welcomed

Olivia Kelleher

Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty has welcomed a move by the EU to ban airlines from charging parents extra to sit next to their children who are under the age of 12.

Ms Doherty, who is a member of European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, said Irish airlines typically do not charge parents to sit next to their young children.

However, a number of other European airlines impose a charge in relation to seating of this type.

Ms Doherty told Newstalk Breakfast that she had long been “incensed” by the cash grab of airlines that opt to charge parents additional money to sit next to their children.

“Children under 12 shouldn’t be without their parents. Airlines, I felt, were taking advantage of the fact that if they wanted to sit their families together, they had to pay extra charges.

“No more now; the Committee voted yesterday that airlines will not be able to charge families extra for sitting together.”

Ms Doherty described the charge as an “abhorrent” practice and said legislation would end it once and for all.

On Tuesday the Transport Committee of the EU voted through a series of measures which will increase the rights of passengers.

The proposals will be voted on by the European Parliament in the coming weeks. If approved by MEPs, they will then be discussed by the European Council.

Ms Doherty said the proposals were met with “little or no resistance.”

“I think everyone knows this is a commonsense approach,” Ms Doherty said.

“The second thing is, we’ve seen in recent months a controversy where people were getting charged extra for bags.

“One of the things we voted on yesterday was that people will have a right to have a 7kg carry-on roller bag with them as a right, once it gets through the Parliament.”

Ms Doherty added that she expects the changes to happen “very soon.”