Airlines will now have to allocate seats in flights to children below 12 years of age along with a parent or guardian. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued new travel guidelines in this regard
DGCA has said that if children and parents are traveling on the same PNR, then they will not have to pay any extra charge for seat selection. Along with this, DGCA has also asked the airlines to maintain its records.
The civil aviation regulator has taken this step after several cases of children below 12 years of age not being seated with their parents or guardians. In the last few weeks, many passengers have shared such experiences on social media platform X.
DGCA has revised Air Transport Circular 01 of 2021 for the new rules. Along with this, Air Transport Circular (ATC)-01 of 2024 has also been revised. Its title is 'Unbundling of services and fees by scheduled airlines'.
The Air Transport Circular of 2024 allows airlines to charge extra for services like zero baggage, preferential seating, meal/snack/drink charges, carriage of musical instruments etc. Passengers can avail these services on opt-in basis.
Airlines in India offer the option of pre-seat selection for a fee. Those who do not want to pay are allotted seats that have not been booked in advance.
In such a situation, those groups or families traveling together, who have not booked their seats in advance by paying extra, are mostly seated separately on flights.