Ryanair has quietly scrapped its controversial charge for parents to sit next to their young children, marking a rare retreat for the budget carrier and a victory for the consumer rights activists who have dogged it for months.
The airline had introduced a mandatory fee for seat allocation when flying with children under 12, a move that campaigners branded a cynical tax on families. Documents obtained by this desk show that Ryanair generated an estimated €3.7 million from the charge in the first quarter alone.
But after sustained pressure from groups including Which? and the Civil Aviation Authority, Ryanair has now removed the fee from its booking system. Sources inside the airline confirmed the change to me late yesterday, though the official line remains a terse statement: "We are always reviewing our policies."
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, called it a triumph for common sense. "Ryanair was charging parents simply to sit with their own children. That was not just greedy it was dangerous. Families should not be separated by a corporate spreadsheet."
The charge had been introduced quietly in early 2024, buried in the fine print of Ryanair's terms and conditions. Parents who failed to pay the fee risked being allocated seats in different rows, leaving toddlers or infants seated miles apart from guardians. The practice drew comparisons to budget airlines' notorious "random seat allocation" strategies which force passengers to pay extra for family seating.
What changed? A combination of legal threats and bad press. The Civil Aviation Authority had signalled it was prepared to take enforcement action, arguing that the charge potentially breached regulations requiring airlines to seat children next to their parents at no extra cost. A formal investigation had been launched after complaints from hundreds of passengers.
Ryanair's reversal is all the more striking given its reputation for aggressive ancillary revenue extraction. The airline made €4.2 billion from extras like seat selection, bags and priority boarding last year. This charge alone was a tiny fraction, but the optics were damning.
Yet questions remain. The airline has not offered refunds to those who paid the fee in recent months. Consumer groups are now pushing for retroactive compensation. "They shouldn't get to keep the spoils of a practice they've now admitted was wrong," Boland said.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: "We have updated our seating policy to ensure that families are seated together for free. This is a reflection of our commitment to customer service." A cynic might note that phrase appears nowhere in the company's internal memos.
The episode is the latest chapter in the long-running saga of airlines and their hidden fees. Ryanair's volte-face may embolden regulators globally to take a harder line on what the CAA has called "drip pricing" the practice of revealing mandatory charges only deep in the booking process.
One thing is certain: the campaigners who hounded the airline for months are not done. They have turned their attention to Ryanair's bag fees, its check-in surcharges, and the mysterious "administration fee" that appears on tickets booked outside a narrow window.
For now, though, parents booking flights with Ryanair can breathe easier. At least until the next surcharge appears.
