Can airlines split up parent and child?

A parent who purchases airline tickets for a family should receive a guarantee from the airline that it will seat the parent and child together without fees or a last-minute scramble at the gate or having to ask other passengers to give up their seat to allow the parent and child to sit together.



Legally, this has been a major point of contention, but in 2026, new regulations in the U.S. and EU have made it much harder for airlines to charge for "family seating." In the United States, the Department of Transportation has pushed for a "Family Seating Dashboard" and regulations that mandate airlines to seat children (typically age 13 and under) next to at least one accompanying adult at no additional cost, provided seats are available at the time of booking. However, if you book a "Basic Economy" ticket on a full flight at the last minute, an airline's automated system might still split you up. In these cases, gate agents and flight attendants usually try to ask for volunteers to swap seats, but they cannot legally "force" a passenger to move if they paid for a specific seat. To avoid this, it is always best to book directly with the airline and select seats immediately, or choose an airline like Southwest, which allows families with children age 6 and under to board early during "Family Boarding."

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Solo parent, multiple kids You can; purchase a child seat and bring an airline approved car seat for the second child (most airlines will not provide this though); or. You could have two in car seats and be completely hands-free if you want to spring for the cost, or if you know both children sleep better this way.

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The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which regulates aviation safety in the UK, doesn't have any specific rules about seating families together but it does recommend that the seating of children close by their parents or guardians should be the aim of airline seat allocation for family groups.

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Most U.S. airlines will permit children who have reached their fifth birthday to travel unaccompanied. Kids ages 5 through 11 who are flying alone must usually travel pursuant to special “unaccompanied minor” procedures. On some airlines, these procedures are required for unaccompanied children as old as 14.

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For safety reasons, children under the age of 12 must sit beside an accompanying adult, and infants (aged 8 days to 23 months inclusive) must sit on an accompanying adult's lap. It is mandatory for an adult travelling with children under 12 (excl. infants) to reserve a seat.

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Whilst our seating system will always try to seat families together, seats are allocated on a first come first served basis so the earlier you check in the more likely you are to be seated together.

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If Lufthansa has to change your advance seat reservation, e.g. because of a late change in the aircraft type used, Lufthansa will do its best to reserve an equivalent new seat for you. In such cases, priority is first given to seating passengers who are travelling together, e.g. families, next to each other again.

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As a family friendly airline we will always endeavour to seat children & infants under the age of 12 next to their accompanying adults. If this is not possible for any reason, we will ensure children are seated as close as possible, and no more than one row away.

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The minimum age for children to travel alone as adults paying adult fares varies: Kids have to be 12 years old to fly alone on domestic flights with Hawaiian, Southwest, Air Canada, and WestJet; 13 years old on Alaska; 14 years old to fly as an adult on JetBlue; and 15 years old on Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, ...

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Child age at the time of unaccompanied travel Children ages 15-17 are permitted to travel as a standard passenger, Go to footer note, provided they can present a valid ID to security personnel. If parents or guardians prefer, they can also travel as an unaccompanied minor.

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What Do I Need to Travel with Someone Else's Child? Children traveling with grandparents, cousins, other relatives, or school groups will need to have a signed document, such as a Child Travel Consent, allowing them to travel without a parent or legal guardian.

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In fact, most regular airlines now charge for seat selection anyways. It's often around $10-$30 per seat per flight segment, so if you cave in and pay for that, it can add up quickly. You shouldn't do it. No matter which airline you're flying on, don't ever pay to select a seat.

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For safety, we require children age 5 – 14 traveling alone to use our unaccompanied minor service. This service is optional for children age 15 – 17, but if requested, then the fee applies. The unaccompanied minor fee is $150* each way, plus applicable taxes†, in addition to the ticket price.

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