UK competition watchdog investigates Ryanair over mandatory fee for parents to sit with their children
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened an investigation into Ryanair over a fee that parents must pay to sit beside their children on flights, questioning whether the practice is an unfair contract term and whether the charge is hidden during booking.
Investigation launched
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Thursday an investigation into Ryanair's practice of charging parents a mandatory fee to sit with their children on flights. The watchdog said the Irish low-cost carrier's terms require at least one parent to sit with children aged between two and 11 years, and then charges about £8 (€4.50–€13.50) each way for what it calls a "mandatory family seat."
The CMA noted that Ryanair is the only major airline flying out of the UK to impose this charge. Other carriers, by contrast, either offer to seat children beside a parent without a paid adult seat reservation or automatically allocate seats together during booking for free.
Fee structure and consumer concern
Under Ryanair's policy, adults travelling with children pay one reserved seat fee but can then select reserved seats for up to four children on the same booking free of charge. While the airline insists children's seats are free, parents are effectively compelled to pay the adult reservation to guarantee they sit alongside their children. The regulator is examining whether this amounts to charging families for the airline to meet its own child safety and disability-related obligations under aviation rules.
The investigation will also look at whether the mandatory family seat fee is "dripped" during the booking process, meaning consumers are not shown the full price upfront but see it added only at later stages. The CMA has previously warned businesses that they must display total prices clearly.
Lots of families save up to afford a summer holiday and we know that extra charges can quickly bump up the price. 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.
Ryanair's response
Ryanair has forcefully rejected the investigation, labelling it "bogus" and a "failed effort by the Starmer Government to pretend it cares about consumers when it has failed to abolish APD." The airline stated that its family seating policy fully complies with all relevant laws and saves families money. It added that children's seats beside a parent are allocated free of charge and that no separate child seat fee exists.
Ryanair doesn't have to wait for the outcome of the CMA's investigation. It could stop charging these unreasonable fees today and we would encourage them to do that.
Wider enforcement context
The probe comes amid broader CMA efforts to ease cost-of-living pressures and protect vulnerable consumers. The regulator stressed that it has only just begun its work and has reached no conclusion on whether Ryanair has broken consumer law. The CMA intends to provide an update on progress within six months. Depending on the outcome, infringements could lead to fines of up to 10% of a company's global revenue.
