Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority said on June 11 it has opened an investigation into Ryanair’s family seating fee to assess whether the practice complies with consumer law.

The regulator said Ryanair requires at least one parent to sit with children aged two to 11 and applies a mandatory family seat charge that is typically about GBP8 each way, while seat reservation is optional for other passengers. The CMA said it is examining whether the contract term may be unfair because parents could be paying for the airline to meet child-safety and disability-related obligations under aviation rules.

The review also covers whether Ryanair is the only major airline serving the UK to impose such a charge and whether the fee is introduced late in the booking process rather than being shown upfront. The authority said the case is at an early stage and that it has not reached any conclusion on whether Ryanair has broken the law.

Ryanair said its family seating policy complies with relevant laws and regulations, that children are not charged to sit beside a parent, and that families pay for only one adult reserved seat.