Ryanair has slammed the “misguided” competition regulator over a probe into its family seating rules, claiming the watchdog has turned a “blind eye” to more serious issues.

Michael O’Leary, the boss of the budget airline, claimed that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has forced it to “reluctantly” make a rule change which will make families more likely to have to sit at the back of the plane.

“The CMA is on a mission to force Ryanair to adopt the less transparent and less consumer-friendly family seating policy applied by most other airlines – just because it’s the industry standard,” the airline’s chief executive fumed on Thursday.

Earlier this month, the regulator opened an investigation into Ryanair over its policy over family seating, which required adults travelling with children to pay one reserved seat fee for up to four children to sit with them.

The budget airline issued a furious response to the probe, accusing the CMA of a “bogus claim” and dubbed the investigation “a failed effort by the Starmer government to pretend it cares about consumers”.

Regulators ‘want to stifle innovation’

But Ryanair said on Thursday that it has tweaked its seating policy to allow adults to sit with their children without paying a fee.

The airline said families opting not to pay the charge will only be told about their seat allocation after checking in, and are more likely to be seated towards the rear of the plane.

“This minor policy tweak will align Ryanair’s family seating policy with that of most other EU airlines, which responds to the desire of Europe’s regulators to stifle innovation and progress,” the carrier said.

But the CMA said that Ryanair is not forced to seat non-paying families at the back of the plane and would be doing so at its own discretion. 

CMA ‘consistently fails consumers’

A spokesperson for the watchdog warned that it would take on Ryanair if its rule changes are found to be insufficient.

They said: “Ryanair claims its seating policy now complies with the law, and we’ll test that thoroughly. If true, it’s a win for families.

“But it doesn’t change the fact families have been paying for ‘mandatory family seats’. Our investigation remains ongoing.”

Ryanair said: “We will reluctantly adjust to this industry standard as we don’t want to waste time explaining to misguided regulators how badly they misunderstand what is in the best interest of UK and Europe’s consumers.”

O’Leary also blasted the CMA over its alleged inaction on other issues, claiming that the regulator “has consistently failed consumers”.

It has been “ignoring” ticket touting, airport monopolies and “service failures” by Europe’s air-traffic controllers, the airline claimed.

Earlier this month, Ryanair handed O’Leary a six year extension as part of a new contract which could see him given 10m additional shares.