Toddlers rampaging up and down plane aisles, babies with lungs to rival Pavarotti and the faint smell of Milk Formula in the air are just some of the child-related hazards that holidaymakers have to deal with on flights.
However, while some of us are prepared to pop in a pair of earplugs and count down the hours until landing, others want some sure-fire assurances that their flying experience will be a child-free zone.
Research has found that more than a third of travellers would be prepared to stump up more cash and buy a more expensive ticket to avoid children altogether.
That is the finding of holiday website TripAdvisor, which follows news that AirAsia X is planning to introduce child-free zones on aircraft. The “quiet zones” will be introduced in February next year, and it seems that they can’t come soon enough for some travellers.
When questioned whether children should be allowed to fly in Business-Class or First-Class cabins, 34 per cent argued that they should be excluded, while 36 per cent said they were happy for them to stay.
“Even on a short-haul holiday the flight makes up a significant part of the travel experience, and a stressful flight can really have a negative impact,” said Emma Shaw, a TripAdvisor spokesperson.
“Any disturbance when flying is a frustration but it seems that unruly children are among the biggest frustrations for some passengers. It’s clearly a topic that fiercely divides opinion.”
The biggest annoyance for more than a fifth of travellers was children kicking the backs of chairs, with 22 per cent raising a complaint about the issue. A further 22 per cent argued that a parent failing to control their children was their biggest bug bear.
Tengku Azmil, CEO of Malaysia Airlines, which is also introducing child-free zones, recently said that the carrier had received many complaints that they had paid out for expensive tickets, only to be kept awake by the sound of crying children.
(Images: Scott & Elaine van der Chijs, Allen Zhao)
