- Corendon Airlines announced a new child-free area on its flight between Amsterdam and Curaçao.
- Over 100 seats on the plane will be dedicated to passengers 16 and over.
Corendon Airlines has set out to extinguish the fears of a crying baby on your next flight — but it will cost you $48.
On August 23, the Turkish-Dutch airline announced that it would launch child-free zones on its route between Amsterdam and the Caribbean island of Curaçao in November.
The section, which the airline calls the "Only Adult" zone, will be located at the front of the plane and will be closed off by walls and a curtain. There will be 93 standard seats that can be reserved by passengers 16 and older for €45, or about $48, per flight. There will also be nine seats in the zone with extra legroom that will cost passengers €100, or about $108.
The airline states on its website that the adults-only section is ideal for business travelers or childless passengers. However, it also argues that dividing the cabins will help families with children as well.
"On board our flights, we always strive to respond to the different needs of our customers," Atilay Uslu, the founder of Corendon, said in a statement shared on the airline's website. He added that Corendon, which is the first Dutch airline to introduce a child-free zone, is "trying to appeal to travelers looking for some extra peace of mind during their flight."
"We also believe this can have a positive effect on parents traveling with small children," Uslu also said in his statement. "They can enjoy the flight without worrying if their children make more noise."
Other airlines have previously launched child-free zones
According to Euronews, Corendon is the first European airline to offer child-free seating, but it's not the first airline in the world.
Scoot, a budget Singapore-based airline, launched Scoot-in-Silence cabins in 2013, according to NBC. The cabin is reserved for travelers who are 12 or older, and it offers more legroom and adjustable headrests.
Similarly, AirAsia X has a child-free zone on its A330 long-haul flights, and the Indian budget airline IndiGo also has two areas on its flights where children under the age of 12 are not welcome.