From kids on flights to reclining seats: the most contentious travel topics of 2022

Should you swap places so a family can sit together on a flight? Push your seat back when travelling? Bring a toddler into business class? Helen Coffey looks back at the issues that sparked the hottest debates this year

Younger passengers often spark debate online (Getty)

Travel is frequently a subject that brings people together. After all, everyone likes travel, right? Along with puppies, ice cream and rainbows, it’s one of the least contentious concepts out there. We may favour different destinations and plump for different kinds of trips, but whether a fly-and-flop fan or an off-the-beaten-track adventurer, most of us can agree that getting away is a very enjoyable pastime indeed.

But beyond our collective passion for exploring, there are certain hot-button issues that spark a 0-60 debate whenever they crop up, as stories throughout 2022 could attest. Because, when it comes to travel etiquette, tensions run high – and opinions go deep.

Case in point: children. Specifically, children on flights. You might assume this wouldn’t be a controversial issue, but it doesn’t take long for the wheels to come off when travellers of all ages are stuck together in a cramped plane cabin at 30,000ft. The most recent headline concerned toddlers and first class, and whether the twain should meet. In December, a mother shared her experience of paying to travel in style with her husband and young child – only for another passenger to accuse them of being in the “wrong seats”.