Airlines would be required to seat children under 14 with a parent or accompanying adult at no extra charge under new government plans.
The proposals would also allow passengers to correct simple name errors on bookings free of charge, alongside a new system for airlines to share information about persistently disruptive passengers.
The Government says it wants the changes in place for summer 2027.
They are due to be introduced following Royal Assent of the Civil Aviation Bill.
According to the Government, a parent and child can currently face charges of up to £104 on a return journey to sit together. Fees for correcting minor booking errors can be as much as £40.
Ministers say the changes would provide consistent protections across all airlines operating in the UK, although many UK carriers already offer protections against these charges.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “Parents should not have to feel the pinch just to sit next to their child on a flight, or for amending a simple booking error.”
The Government is also working with airlines and trade unions on a system for sharing information about passengers responsible for repeated disruptive behaviour.
Airlines logged more than 1,000 serious disruptive passenger incidents in 2025. These included a mid-air brawl which led to a flight being diverted, disrupting journeys for other passengers and creating additional costs for the airline.
The proposed information-sharing system would help airlines identify disruptive passengers and decide whether to extend a ban to their own services.
Consumer organisation Which? welcomed the plans to end charges for children to sit with an accompanying adult and to allow simple booking mistakes to be corrected without a fee.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “It’s clearly unfair to force parents and children as young as three to pay an extra fee just to sit together.”
He added: “It is also positive to see greater flexibility to amend simple mistakes, protecting consumers from unnecessary charges.”
The Government says it will work with the aviation industry on implementing the changes once the legislation has received Royal Assent.
