Airline launches seat mapper tool to show where babies are sitting on a plane

Ever had your flight ruined by a crying baby? An airline initiative means this could soon be a thing of the past.

A Japanese airline has created a tool to show passengers where babies will be sat on a plane.

The new seat mapper, launched by Japan Airlines, indicates seats booked by those travelling with young children using a child icon.

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“Passengers travelling with children between eight days and two years old who select their seats on the JAL website will have a child icon displayed on their seats on the seat selection screen,” reads a statement on the Japan Airlines airport.

“This lets other passengers know a child may be sitting there.”

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It is yet to be seen whether other airlines around the world will follow suit.

The initiative has received a mixed response. Entrepreneur Rahat Ahmed drew attention to the policy on Twitter, praising it to his followers and urging another airline, Qatar Airways, to take note.

A number of Twitter user agreed with Ahmet, saying they would welcome such policies on flights and tagging other airlines.

However, other users took issue with Ahmed’s tweets, calling for “tolerance” in place of baby-flagging policies.

“Get over yourself,” one person wrote.

This isn’t the first time an airline’s policies towards parents and babies have proved contentious.

Earlier this year, there was uproar on social media after Dutch airline KLM told a breastfeeding customer to cover herself up, who shared her experience in a Facebook post.

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Another woman asked the airline to clarify their breastfeeding policy on Twitter, and the airline responded to say that while breastfeeding on flights is allowed, if other passengers are offended they may be asked to cover up – cue uproar.