Should there be child-free zones on planes and trains?

An airline says it will offer baby-free "quiet zones" on its flights. Should all planes and trains follow suit, or do adults need to learn to live with child passengers?

At 35,000ft, the klaxon-like howl of a distressed toddler screeches through a pressurised cabin.

For travellers already stressed by lengthy security checks, crammed into cramped seating and unnerved by the very fact of being so high above ground, it's almost enough to make them shatter the Plexiglas windows and jump.

And it's a source of anxiety for the embarrassed parents, too, desperately trying to pacify their wailing offspring while facing disapproving stares from fellow adults.

One airline is offering what it says is a solution. Budget carrier Air Asia says from February it will provide a "quiet zone" for passengers aged 12 and over at no extra cost.
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2012 child-free travel news
Children at an airport

2012 survey claims a majority of British travellers supported child-free flights
Malaysian Airlines ban children from top deck of A380 aircraft
WestJet announce plan (on 1 April) to pack children in boxes in cargo hold

Separated from the rest of the cabin by toilets and bulkheads, these seven rows of economy class seats should be immune from the sound of infant tantrums, the company claims.

It is following the example of Malaysia Airlines, which in April announced it would limit families with children sitting on the upper deck of its Kuala Lumpur to London service.

For the childless and the easily irritable, it may be a blessed relief.

Equally, many parents will surely be disgruntled at the suggestion they should be segregated from other passengers like second-class citizens.

But others accustomed to getting around with offspring in tow can see the point.

Cathy Winston, 35, who runs the MummyTravels blog about her journeys with her 10-week-old daughter, is planning to fly both of them to the Spanish island of Lanzarote in November.

She is determined that her love of travelling should not be curtailed. But she believes a dedicated family compartment would at least mean she wouldn't have to worry about reproachful looks.
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Cathy Winston

If I knew that all the people around me had chosen to sit there, it would take some of the stress off”

Cathy Winston MummyTravels blog

"I know from before I had my daughter what it's like when you're trying to get some sleep and there's a baby crying," she says.

"If I knew that all the people around me had chosen to sit there, it would take some of the stress off."

Hitherto, the sound of noisy or distressed children was one that all users of mass transit were expected to tolerate.

Typically, UK train operators which provide "quiet coaches" instruct commuters not to use their phones and ensure music devices aren't heard by other passengers - but no mention is made of infant noise pollution.

Certainly, there appears to be support for segregation. In April, a survey of 1,666 British adults by Jetcost.co.uk found that 53% supported child-free flights.

A poll by Tripadvisor in August found that over a third of Britons would be prepared to pay extra to travel by air without the presence of children.

But although airlines could presumably charge a healthy premium for the privilege of no-infant compartments, there might be logistical difficulties.
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What about in restaurants?

The continuous wail of two nearby infants, caterwauling at subtly different pitches, can be enough to disrupt the gastronomic experience of even the hardiest of diners.

And a similar level of stress can be suffered by parents with young children, as they garner irked looks from the childless adults two tables away.

But people with young children don't stop wanting to have some sort of social life.

Sensitive parents have a social sword of Damocles hanging over them. Many sit there aghast at the thought that the noise or behaviour of their children is about to spark upset at another table.

Read full Magazine article on this social minefield

In smaller aircraft, with different layouts to those used by Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines, screening off the sound of crying children will not always be practical. Adult-only flights would mean reducing the number of available customers, and thus have a negative impact on profitability.

And perhaps most importantly, introducing segregation would risk infuriating families who resent the idea they should be treated as second-class citizens.

After all, there are no separate schedules or compartments for adults who impinge on the peace and quiet of others by snoring, for instance, or taking off their shoes to unleash malodorous feet.

Arguably, part of the deal when travelling in economy class or on low-cost carriers is that you have to put up with other people's irritating habits in extremely close quarters.

Simon Calder, travel editor of the Independent, has taken his two daughters around the world with him. He believes families who pay for their tickets should not be discriminated against.

"I very, very much think that people need to be tolerant," he says. "People who have a problem with children on flights need to get over it.

"If they don't like it, I have two words for them - ear plugs. We're living in the 21st Century where people have iPods."

Perhaps, while they're listening, they can play a lullaby.

I adore this suggestion. 12 hours to Beijing with a kid having as screaming fit EVERY ten minutes was enough to convince me that this is an amazing idea. It's also a nightmare being sat on a plane with a kid behind you kicking your seat consistently. Yes, it's fine to say people should be tolerant of kids, but when parents neither have the ability or inclination to control their offspring, it's beyond being even vaguely tolerable. If an adult started screaming, kicking and wailing on a flight, the flight crew would have them removed. The effect on other passengers when it's a child screaming is exactly the same, except we're expected to be fine with it?

This is ageism. I hope your disgusting Nazi-like judgements are never fulfilled.

I think it's ridiculous....with all due respect to those who find the noise of a crying baby annoying, that is just a part of life, babies cry!
I think as a society we have a really unhealthy attitude towards children, with them often being seen as a nuisance who need to be separated and supressed. I think that parents should control their children in public places, as anybody of any age misbehaving is obviously going to be a nuisance, but at the same time could we not just adopt a healthier and more tolerant attitude towards them?
Look at countries like Spain and Italy where children are treated with much more tolerance, respected as a future generation and in many schools all ages are allowed to mix in the playground right from kindergarten to the final year. They don't have this strange habit of separating everybody into age groups and separating the young from the old.