Hidden flight fees for families are set to be scrapped, the government has announced.
The changes will require airlines to seat children under 14 with a parent or accompanying adult at no additional cost.
Currently, a parent and child could be charged up to £104 on a return journey just to ensure they sit together.
The reforms also include removing charges for correcting simple name errors on bookings, which can cost up to £40.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “Charging parents just to sit with their children is a rip-off, plain and simple.
“And being hit with a hefty fee for a simple spelling mistake on a booking form isn’t right either.
“People are fed up with these little charges that add up, so I’m putting a stop to them.
“This is what our everyday fixes are all about.
“Giving people room to breathe by tackling the small irritations that catch people out, waste their time and cost them money.”
The government says these changes will help ease pressure on families and improve consistency across all airlines operating in the UK.
Heidi Alexander, Transport Secretary, 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.
“That’s why we’re scrapping these unnecessary charges for all airlines – another everyday fix to help put money back in people’s pockets and give households more breathing room.
“And everyone deserves to travel knowing their flight isn’t going to be disrupted by bad behaviour from a small minority.
“These common-sense reforms will make flying safer for staff and passengers and protect people from unnecessary charges, whoever they fly with.”
The government also plans to introduce a new system for airlines and trade unions to share information about persistently disruptive passengers.
In 2025, more than 1,000 serious disruptive passenger incidents were logged by airlines, including a mid-air brawl that resulted in a flight being diverted, causing significant disruption to passengers and crew as well as costs for the airline.
The new system will make disruptors easier to spot, keeping staff and passengers safer from the get-go and enabling airlines to take decisions on whether to extend a ban on their airline.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, welcomed the changes.
He said: “It’s clearly unfair to force parents and children as young as three to pay an extra fee just to sit together.
“Airlines that have separated families are putting profit ahead of passenger peace of mind.
“Which? has successfully pressured many airlines into dropping these fees over the past ten years.
“So it’s welcome to see the government taking firm action on this by outlawing these charges completely and finally putting an end to this rip off.
“It is also positive to see greater flexibility to amend simple mistakes, protecting consumers from unnecessary charges.”
The measures will take effect following Royal Assent of the Civil Aviation Bill.
Earlier this year, Ryanair adjusted its family seating policy after an investigation was launched into the company charging parents to sit with their children on flights.
The Irish operator previously required parents travelling with children aged between two and 11 to pay to reserve what it referred to as a mandatory family seat.
Children were then allocated seats next to or near parents free of charge.
The fee for a mandatory family seat was typically about £8 each way, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) watchdog found.
Under the new policy, parents will still have the option of paying to reserve a seat of their choosing and have their children alongside them free of charge.
At the time, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said its previous policy was “the most progressive and transparent in Europe”.
Under the new policy, he said, “families may have to wait until after they have checked in to find out their seat allocation and are more likely to be seated at the rear of the cabin – but at least the CMA will be able to claim they have done something for consumers”.
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