Overview
- Ryanair announced on Thursday, June 25, 2026 that adults travelling with children who do not pay for reserved seats will be given complimentary grouped seat assignments revealed after check‑in.
- Under the new approach families who accept the free allocation are likely to be seated toward the rear of the aircraft while passengers who want seats up front must pay to reserve them.
- The UK Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation earlier in June into Ryanair’s practice of requiring a paid ‘mandatory family seat’ for parents of children aged about two to 11, a fee the CMA said was typically around £8 each way.
- Ryanair called the update a ‘minor policy tweak’ and said it will be revenue neutral while CEO Michael O’Leary publicly criticised the CMA’s intervention and framed the change as reluctantly adopting the industry norm.
- Consumer group Which? welcomed the shift but said it will monitor whether parents are consistently seated next to their children without charge and the CMA warned its ongoing probe will test the revised policy for legal compliance which could shape future rules on airline ancillary fees.