Ryanair Investigated Over Charging Parents To Sit With Their Children On Flights

The UK's competition watchdog is officially investigating Ryanair over allegations that it forces parents to pay extra fees just to sit next to their children on flights.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an inquiry into whether the budget airline's booking policies break consumer law. Under Ryanair's rules, it is mandatory for at least one adult to be seated next to children aged between 2 and 11, including those with disabilities. However, to fulfill this requirement, the airline relies on a "mandatory family seat" rule, which requires the adult to pay a seat reservation fee typically costing £8 each way. For all other passengers on the flight, reserving a seat remains entirely optional.

The CMA intends to explore whether the airline's "approach to seat reservations may mean parents are being charged for the airline to meet its child safety and disability‑related obligations as set out under aviation rules – and will investigate to determine whether or not this practice is in line with consumer law". Specifically, the watchdog is testing whether these terms are "unfair" by tilting the contractual balance too heavily in favor of the business.

Furthermore, investigators are tackling whether the mandatory fee is "dripped" during the booking process and whether consumers are presented with the total price that they will pay. The practice of drip pricing, where hidden, unavoidable fees are tacked on late in the transaction, is illegal in the UK. Hayley Fletcher, the CMA's director of consumer protection, warned that these extra costs heavily impact families looking for affordable holidays.

She added:

"Our investigation will consider Ryanair's approach to family seat reservations and how the cost is presented to consumers to determine whether they comply with consumer law. For the past year, we've told businesses to ensure their customers are shown the total price upfront – those who don't face the very real possibility of action from the CMA."

Ryanair has fiercely defended its practices, branding the inquiry a "bogus investigation" and a political stunt. The airline claims its guidelines are fully lawful and actually cut costs for travelers. A spokesperson stated: "Ryanair's family seating policy fully complies with all relevant laws and regulations and saves families money when travelling on the UK’s lowest fare airline."

According to the airline, they do not charge a fee for the children's seats themselves. They clarified that "like all adults who select a reserved seat, adults travelling with children pay one reserved seat fee, but can select reserved seats beside them for up to four children on the same booking FREE OF CHARGE".

The carrier also took a direct swipe at the UK government, stating:

“This bogus CMA investigation is a failed effort by the Starmer Govt to pretend it cares about consumers when it has failed to abolish APD [Air Passenger Duty] which would immediately deliver lower fares for all consumers and growth for the UK aviation, tourism and wider economy. Ryanair looks forward to disproving these false CMA claims during this bogus investigation."

The CMA believes Ryanair stands alone in this practice among major carriers operating out of the UK. According to the watchdog, rival airlines choose to automatically seat groups together during the booking stage or allow children to sit with a guardian entirely free of charge.

The consumer group Which? has thrown its support behind the investigation. Rory Boland, travel editor at Which?, pointed out that the group has frequently raised concerns regarding the airline's "harsh approach to separating families and making parents pay a fee to sit next to children as young as three". He noted that the airline could choose to drop these controversial fees immediately rather than waiting for the investigation to wrap up.

The CMA has emphasized that the inquiry is in its earliest stages and it has "reached no conclusions about whether Ryanair has broken the law". However, the watchdog's newly boosted enforcement powers mean companies found breaching consumer law face fines of up to 10% of their global turnover.