CMA probes Ryanair's £8 fee for parents to sit with children

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation into Ryanair's practice of charging parents to sit next to their children on flights. The watchdog said the fee, typically £8 each way, may be unfair under consumer law.

Ryanair's terms require a parent to sit with a child aged two to 11. The airline enforces this through a "mandatory family seat" that carries a charge. The CMA said it is examining whether the fee amounts to charging parents for the airline to meet its own child-safety obligations under aviation rules.

Hayley Fletcher, the CMA's director of consumer protection, said extra charges can quickly inflate the cost for families saving for a summer holiday. "Our investigation will consider Ryanair's approach to family seat reservations and how the cost is presented to consumers," she said. The regulator also said it is looking at whether the fee is "dripped" during the booking process, meaning the total price is not shown upfront.

The CMA said Ryanair is the only major airline flying out of the UK that imposes such a charge. Other carriers either seat children next to a parent without a fee or allocate seats together automatically during booking at no cost.

Ryanair called the investigation "bogus" and said its family seating policy "fully complies with all relevant laws." The airline said adults traveling 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. It framed the probe as a "failed effort by the Starmer Govt to pretend it cares about consumers" while not abolishing Air Passenger Duty, which Ryanair said would lower fares for all.

The regulator stressed the investigation has just started and it has reached no conclusions about whether Ryanair has broken the law.