The Biden administration proposed new rules Thursday that would require airlines to let parents sit next to young children for free.
The proposal would prohibit airlines from charging parents to sit next to a child under 13. If adjacent seats are not available, airlines would be required to offer a full refund or free rebooking.
“The idea that parents should be able to sit next to their children on an airplane seems like common sense and should be standard practice,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on a conference call with reporters on Monday.
“I have experience flying with a toddler myself, and my husband and I have traveled many times with our two-year-old twins, and we don’t need the extra stress and expense when flying as a family,” he added.
According to a press release from the Department of Transportation, seat fees could increase the cost of air travel for families with children who may be too young to eat or go to the bathroom on their own.
Other passengers may be asked to give up their pre-paid seats to accommodate families.
“When this happens, it’s unfair to everyone on board – parents, children, other passengers – and it puts the flight attendants in a difficult position,” Buttigieg said.
The proposal follows a similar effort by the Biden administration to crack down on so-called “junk fees” in the airline industry.
The Transportation Department finalized two rules in April that require airlines to provide automatic refunds for canceled or significantly delayed flights and to share fees for checked and carry-on bags and for advanced rebooking and cancellations.
But a coalition of major airlines sued the government in May over the fee-disclosure rules, arguing they would confuse customers who are bombarded with too much information during the purchasing process.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the rule on Monday, saying it exceeded the agency’s authority and could cause “irreparable harm” to airlines.
