Mother sparks fiery debate after slamming airline for child-free seat feature

A mother-of-two has sparked a fiery debate online after calling out Japan Airlines for a controversial booking feature that shows where babies are seated - allowing other passengers to pick a spot far away.

Sophie Kalimeridou, a 'mumfluencer' who specialises in family-friendly travel content, took to Instagram earlier this month to vent her frustration with the airline's policy after flying with her toddler daughter and young son.

Sharing a video from her business class seat, she accused Japan Airlines of alienating parents and children in favour of passengers who prefer a quieter journey.

In the post, uploaded to her page, @sophiefamilytravel, the mother wrote: 'Japan Airlines is the ONLY airline in the world that when selecting your seat they show you if there are any babies around so you can avoid them.'

'They’re basically pre-framing millions of people that those are the areas to be "avoided" and that being sat behind a baby can make your flight uncomfortable.

'Very disappointing… what are your thoughts? Unless you’re flying on a private jet, you should be ok sitting near anyone…'

Japan Airlines, which operates 66 international routes across the globe, does indeed display a baby icon during the seat selection process to indicate where children under the age of two are seated.

The feature, which appears after families book with infants between eight days and two years old, is intended to help passengers choose a quieter spot - though the airline notes that seat assignments can always change before departure.

Despite offering a range of parent-friendly services, including hot water for cleaning bottles, inflight entertainment, and baby-changing facilities in bathrooms, the airline's seat map feature has split public opinion.

Sophie's post quickly amassed thousands of views and comments from parents and child-free passengers.

Many parents backed the content creator's criticism, arguing that singling out babies in the seating plan sends the wrong message.

One person wrote: 'Babies are a part of life. We were all babies once. We should all grow up and accept that in a tight space such as a plane babies are part of the deal.'

Another said, 'Just got off a flight where my babies slept the whole time and waved at everyone when they got on board. I don’t know why you’d avoid that,' while a third added, 'Not all babies disrupt people every time.'

However, not everyone agreed, as one person wrote, 'Japan Airlines understands customers. This is how businesses should always operate. Get over yourself!' while another added, 'This is amazing! I hope more airlines adopt this policy!'

A third said, 'Just like you chose to have a kid, people should be able to choose if they want to sit by one on a long flight,' while another wrote, 'My thought? This is my dream. I strive to never be near babies.'

One mother even voiced support for the policy, writing: 'As a mother myself… I fully support their decision for this. We chose to have children… while others choose not to have children.

'What impact does it actually bare on you if others want the choice of peace and quiet during their flight?'

But some users questioned the practicality of the system, pointing out the potential for a passenger to still be assigned a seat next to a child.

One noted: 'That doesn’t even make sense. What if you book your seat before a family does?'

It comes after a plane passenger was publicly berated by a furious mum after refusing to swap seats with her toddler - resulting in her considering taking legal action.