BA recently changed its policy regarding the seating of unaccompanied minors after being accused of discrimination by a male passenger who took the airline to court after being asked to move seats away from a 12-year-old boy on a flight to Luxembourg.

Air France also made the headlines recently when unions claimed its seating policy, similar to that of BA’s, could put children’s safety at risk in the event of an accident.

Flights comparison site Skyscanner.net surveyed over 500 users on the sensitive issue and found that more than two-thirds would feel insulted if asked to move away from a child.

The overwhelming majority (86 per cent) of respondents also said that they would be happy for their own child to sit next to a stranger, if the child was flying unaccompanied.

Of these, 40 per cent said they would actually prefer their child to be seated next to an adult in case they needed help in an emergency.