When a parent purchases airline tickets for themselves and their minor child on the same reservation, there should be one basic expectation: that child will be seated next to their parent or guardian.

Families should not have to pay an additional fee just to guarantee that a young child will be seated with the adult responsible for them.

Yet families flying in the United States can still find themselves assigned seats apart unless they pay extra to select seats — sometimes leaving parents scrambling at the gate or relying on strangers to switch seats so they can sit with their own children.

This shouldn't be treated as a travel upgrade.

Keeping a child with their caregiver is a matter of safety and basic supervision.

A young child may need help fastening a seatbelt, using the restroom, eating, managing fear or turbulence, understanding emergency instructions, or simply feeling safe in an unfamiliar environment. In an emergency, a parent or guardian needs to be able to reach their child immediately.

Separating children also places an unfair burden on other passengers, flight attendants, and gate agents. A stranger should never unexpectedly become responsible for sitting beside and assisting someone else's young child because an airline's seating system separated a family.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has already taken steps toward addressing family seating, but American families deserve a clear and permanent federal protection.

## We are asking Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish a federal requirement that:

- A minor child under age 14 who is traveling on the same reservation as a parent, guardian, or accompanying responsible adult must be seated directly adjacent to at least one of those adults.
- Airlines cannot charge families an additional seat-selection fee simply to ensure that a child is seated with their accompanying adult.
- Airline reservation systems must prioritize keeping children and accompanying adults together before remaining adjacent seats are sold or assigned to unrelated passengers.
- Airlines must have procedures to correct separated family seating before boarding rather than placing the burden on families, gate agents, or other passengers to negotiate seat swaps onboard.
- Reasonable exceptions may apply when the accompanying adult voluntarily chooses separate seating or when safety or operational circumstances genuinely prevent adjacent seating.

Parents aren't asking for free upgrades, preferred rows, extra legroom, or premium seats.

We're asking for the seat next to our child.

If an airline accepts a reservation for a minor child and their parent or guardian traveling together, keeping that child with their caregiver should be part of transporting them safely — not an optional add-on available for an additional fee.

Please sign this petition if you believe families should never have to pay extra to keep a minor child seated with their parent or guardian.

Let's make family seating a federal passenger protection, not an airline perk.