新加坡酷航设立机上“静区” 禁止12岁以下儿童入座

新加坡航空旗下廉价航空公司酷航最近宣布在客机上设立“静区”，禁止12岁以下儿童在该区域就座，以便让该区域的乘客享有相对安静的乘机体验，乘客需额外支付14美元才可选择该区域的座位。该公司在宣传广告中还指出，“静区”的座位间距也比普通经济舱座位稍大，乘客可以更加舒适地伸腿活动。酷航并不是第一个开设儿童禁坐区的航空公司，马来西亚航空一直禁止儿童进入头等舱，并在2017年开设经济舱儿童禁入区。亚航也在去年在客机上开设“安静区”。

Scoot Airlines — a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines — announced that it will let passengers pay about $14 to sit in a “child-free” zone. Children under the age of 12 are banned from sitting in this “ScootinSilence” area, which will span rows 21 to 25 on its flights. The child-free zone advertises itself under the auspice of ensured peace and quiet. It also offers additional legroom via Super or S-T-R-E-T-C-H seats, "offering 35" pitch – "4 more inches than the standard economy seat," according to the carrier's website. Scoot offers flights to Singapore (its hub), Sydney, the Gold Coast, Seoul and Nanjing.

Scoot is not the first to kick kids out of certain areas. Malaysian Airlines has long denied children access to first class and introduced an adults-only section in economy in 2017. Meanwhile, AirAsia introduced a "Quiet Zone" to its aircrafts last year.

While offering child-free zones may seem extreme to some, it beats being bumped off a flight for tending to an unruly toddler. That's what happened to a Rhode Island family flying back from Turks and Caicos last year on JetBlue. At the time, the airline said the decision had been made at the captain's discretion after a prolonged period of disruption prior to takeoff.

The anti-kid trend is reflected in other areas of the hospitality industry, with an increasing number of restaurants banning children. In June a Virginia sushi restaurant gained media attention for refusing to serve anyone under the age of 18.