A child below the age of 12 must be allocated a seat next to at least one parent during the check-in process, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told airlines on Tuesday.
On November 10 last year, Consumer Affairs Minister Rohit Kumar Singh wrote a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Vamlunmang Vualnam, expressing concern over airlines charging separately for seat selection during online check-in. He pointed out that offering free mandatory web check-in and later charging for seat selection misleads consumers and amounts to “unfair trade practices” under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Vualnam responded on November 30, saying that under current rules, airlines were free to charge fees when passengers chose to use “preferred seats” during the web check-in process.
On Tuesday, the DGCA said that the Air Transport Circular on the unbundling of services and fees by scheduled airlines – which allows airlines to charge for extra baggage, preferential seating, meals, snacks, drinks and the carriage of musical instruments – is being amended as there are several cases have been reported where children under the age of twelve were not with a parent or guardian.
“Such unbundled services are offered by airlines on an ‘opt-in’ basis and are not mandatory in nature. There is also a provision for automatic seat assignment to passengers who have not selected a seat for web check-in before scheduled departure,” it noted on.
“Airlines must ensure that children up to the age of 12 are seated with at least one of their parents or guardians, traveling on the same PNR, and a record of the same is maintained,” the DGCA said.
First print: April 23, 2024 | 5:05 PM IST