UK CMA Launches Investigation Into Ryanair’s Mandatory Family Seating Policy and Upfront Pricing

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority announced on June 11, 2026, that it is investigating Ryanair over mandatory fees charged to parents who must sit with children aged 2-11. The probe will examine whether the fees breach consumer law that requires businesses to display the total ticket price upfront rather than adding charges separately during booking.

Ryanair requires at least one parent or guardian to sit with children in that age range, a rule the airline calls a mandatory family seat.

The CMA said the fee is typically £8, or around $10, per flight. Seat reservations remain optional for other passengers. The regulator stated that Ryanair is the only major airline flying out of the UK that imposes such mandatory family seating charges.

While the airline’s website offers free reserved seating for children under 12, parents and guardians must pay a booking fee to access those seats, the CMA said. Ryanair no longer applies the fees on flights to and from Italy after losing a 2024 appeal against a ban imposed by Italy’s Civil Aviation Authority. The CMA will consider that precedent as part of its review.

Hayley Fletcher, the CMA’s senior director of consumer protection, said: “Lots of families save up to afford a summer holiday and we know that extra charges can quickly bump up the price. ” Ryanair said its family seating policy fully complies with all relevant laws. The airline stated it looks forward to disproving the CMA’s claims during what it called a bogus investigation.