Ban the babies: 70 per cent of Britons want to see child-free zones introduced on planes (and we hate drunk passengers and seat kickers too)



The majority of British travellers wish to see child-free areas on aircraft

More than a third of us would pay extra to be on a flight without children

Drunk passengers and seat-kickers also feature on our flight hate lists



They are the little darlings who look awfully cute in a photo, or when curled up asleep in a cot – but a lot less appealing at 30,000ft, crying loudly in the seat right next to you.



And according to a new survey, almost seven in ten Britons dislike flying with babies so much that they would like to see child-free areas introduced on planes.

Oh lord, please not next to me: Almost seven in ten Britons would like to see child-free zones on aircraft

Almost one in four British travellers – 39 per cent – believes that no-kid-zones should be installed as compulsory compartments on long-haul flights where people want to sleep.

And nearly a third – 30 per cent – would go further and bring in such silent spaces on all flights, long- and short-haul, to ensure stress-free travels for non-parenting passengers.

The survey was conducted by bookings website LateDeals.co.uk, with 1,108 UK consumers questioned as to what they hate most about air travel.

And our dislike of noisy children and babies on planes runs deep, it seems.

More than a third of us – 35 per cent – would pay extra to travel on a childless service.

Long-haul passengers would be prepared to cough up an additional £63 to the cost of a return ticket if it meant adults only on board.

And on short-haul flights, an extra £28 on the price of a return fare would be deemed good value if it guaranteed an absence of toddlers having tantrums in the middle of the economy-class aisle.

Imperfect passengers: Babies on planes are the pet peeve of 43 per cent of British travellers - although passengers who invade your personal space on board are barely more popular, criticised by 31 per cent of us



However, screaming infants are not the only source of frustration for British travellers.

In fact, according to the research, a bawling baby ranks as only the fourth most irritating category of nightmare airline passenger.

Air rage: The most annoying passengers or other irritants encountered on a flight

1. Drunk and rowdy travellers: 58%

2. People with bad hygiene: 48%

3. Seat-kicking passengers: 47%

4. Crying babies: 43%

5. Lack of legroom: 41%

6. Overweight passengers/passengers who invade personal space: 31%

7. People who hog the arm-rest: 14%

8. Poor quality food: 12%

9. Snoring passengers: 10%

10. Rude cabin crew: 9%

11. Unallocated seating: 8%

12. Not enough refreshments: 7%

13. Running out of meal options: 7%

14. Cabin temperature: 5% Survey conducted by LateDeals.co.uk. 1,108 British consumers were questioned, and asked to pick three options from the list as pet peeves



Asked ‘Which of the following are the most annoying on a long flight?’, well over half of respondents – 58 per cent – selected ‘drunk and rowdy travellers’ as their pet peeve.

People with ‘bad personal hygiene’ and travellers who kick the back of the seat in front were also near the top of the list, causing anger to 48 and 47 per cent of us respectively.

Overweight flyers who invade other people’s space were the fifth most disliked passenger, flagged as a cause of exasperation by 31 per cent of respondees.

Crying babies came in at fourth on the list, a bête noire for 43 per cent of those surveyed.

‘If you run into a screaming baby – or a noisy, hyperactive toddler and its exasperated parents – on a train, you can just move carriages,’ says Kay Dixon of LateDeals.co.uk.

‘The same does not apply to a flight.

‘If you are sitting next to a family with kids that can’t settle down, there is nowhere to go.

‘While most people are sympathetic towards parents with young children, many people simply don’t want so sit next to them – which is why the majority would like to see child-free zones on planes, and more than a third even want child-free planes.’