Kids must be seated with parents on flight: DGCA

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The civil aviation regulators DGCA has asked airlines to make sure that children up to the age of 12 travel with at least one of the parents or guardians in the adjoining seat.

The order comes against the incidents of children below the age of 12 years seated away from thier parents or guardians during flights. “Airlines shall ensure that children up to the age of 12 years are allocated seats with at least one of their parents/guardians, who are travelling on the same PNR and a record of the same shall be maintained,” the DGCA said in a statement on Tuesday.

In this regard, the regulator has revised the Air Transport Circular titled, ‘unbundle of services and fees by scheduled airlines’.

As per the norms, some services like zero baggage, preferential seating, meals/ snack/ drink charges and charges for carriage of musical instruments are permitted.

The DGCA said that such unbundled services are provided on an “opt-in” basis by airlines and are not mandatory in nature.

“There is also a provision for auto seat assignment to the passengers who have not selected any seat for web check-in before scheduled departure,” the statement said.

India is one of the world’s fastest growing civil aviation markets and domestic air traffic is on the rise. Last Sunday, on April 21, over 4.7 lakh domestic passengers took to the skies, which is almost 44,000 more than the same day last year.

“Domestic aviation in India is witnessing unprecedented growth, driven by factors such as concrete policies, economic development, and expansion of low-cost carriers. As more people gain access to air travel, the sector is expected to continue its upward trajectory,” the civil aviation ministry said in a X post.