Ryanair could be forced to scrap fees to sit next to family and friends

Budget airline Ryanair could soon be forced to scrap one of its extra charges that customers can opt to pay for.

The Irish company, based in Dublin and run by Michael O'Leary, offers cheap flights across Europe to stunning locations for as little as £15 each way.

Now, in a week in which O'Leary has issued a warning ahead of the summer months, the business has faced accusations of profiting unfairly from charges it brings in after the initial costs of booking a seat.

Alfonso Rodriguez, president of the consumers association in the Balearic Islands off of mainland Spain's east coast, is behind the accusation.

Rodriguez has said that it is unfair for airlines like Ryanair to charge passengers to sit together on flights.

As it stands, Ryanair charges passengers an extra fee to reserve seats to sit next to each other.

Don't want to pay? That's fine. You'll be assigned a random seat on the aircraft free of charge.

Fees aren't fixed if you want to sit together but you can expect to pay £15 or more for the luxury.

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As it stands, the law doesn't touch the issue. Guidelines exist, which state children under 12 years of age should be seated with their accompanying adults.

If this isn't possible, at the very least they should be on the same row.

In his complaint, Rodriguez said: "There have been problems with passengers who have had to leave their 13 or 14 year old children alone. The flight crew has had to endure their anger and this can even affect the safety of the flight."

Now, the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament is set to look at his complaint and study it.

It would be the responsibility of the European Commission to bring in any rule changes when it came to the charge.

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A spokesperson was quoted in Spanish News Today as saying: "You are right, these types of policies used to fragment prices have become more common.

"They are adding a charge for each part of the service, whether is it seat assignment, luggage, food or drink. I imagine that they will soon ask for a payment to be able to smile."

LADbible contacted Ryanair for comment on the development and the future of its policy to charge customers to sit together.

Other airlines also do as Ryanair does, with easyJet, TUI and Jet2 all charging passengers to select particular seats or wanting extra leg room.