Budget airline divides opinion with introduction of child-free zones on flights

Indian budget airline IndiGo has introduced a new measure banning children aged under 12 years from the premium extra leg room seats on its flights.

In a statement, IndiGo said that rows 1-4 and 11-14 on their flights will be classed as designated 'quiet zones' designed for business passengers, where children under 12 are forbidden. "Keeping in mind the comfort and convenience of all passengers, row numbers one to four and 11 to 14 are generally kept as a Quiet Zone on IndiGo flights," the statement read. "These zones have been created for business travellers who prefer to use the quiet time to do their work." Perhaps not surprisingly, the introduction of the measures have divided opinion. While many travellers will no doubt support the idea of not having their flight interrupted by screaming children, others feel it is a discriminatory measure, as is evident in this piece in Hindustan Times. Other airlines, such as Malaysian Airlines and AirAsia X, have tried introducing similar child-free measures in the recent past. Singapore Airline Scoot did likewise as recently as 2013 when introducing an upgrade called 'ScootinSilence,' which allowed passengers to pay extra for an upgrade to sit in rows 21-25, where passengers under the age of 12 were forbidden from taking a seat.