Emirates has introduced a new policy that bars children aged eight and under from redeeming rewards, stirring debate about whether young passengers should be seated in first class. The airline recently revised its Skywards loyalty programme, which lets travellers earn miles to spend on upgrades, flights, and other perks.
“Please note that passengers aged eight years old and below are ineligible for first class Emirates classic rewards and upgrade rewards,” the Emirates Skywards rules stated. According to travel blog One Mile at a Time, the policy change was quietly introduced on 15 August 2025, without a formal announcement from the airline.
“Emirates classic rewards are not available to blue tier members or passengers aged eight years old and below in first class, and only members (aged nine-plus) whose membership tier is silver, gold or platinum at the time of booking are permitted to redeem first class Emirates classic rewards,” the airline wrote further.
Exciting news for Emirates Skywards members! You can now redeem Miles on Classic Rewards and Upgrades to experience Emirates’ award-winning Premium Economy cabin. https://t.co/YslYjR2D3y pic.twitter.com/EcoUcryK1v
— Emirates (@emirates) September 10, 2025
Although children will no longer be able to use miles to purchase or upgrade to first-class seats, Emirates’ policies do not state that kids aged eight and under are barred from having a first-class ticket bought with cash.
The policy sparked widespread discussion after The Points Guy shared the news in an Instagram post, calling it “family-unfriendly.” Hundreds of travellers responded in the comments, fuelling the debate. “My kids behave better than most adults on flights, so it really depends,” one user wrote. However, another took a harsh stance, “All world airlines should forbid kids under 8 years from flying on business nor first class! And if the parents would like then the ticket should be doubled the adult fare.”
Meanwhile, Canadian model Khloë Terae defended family travel, saying, “You are entitled to a child-free life but not a child-free world. See ya in first class with my one-year-old and newborn soon.”
Other airlines have taken different approaches to address similar concerns about young passengers in premium cabins. For example, Turkish-Dutch carrier Corendon Airlines has added an “Only Adult” section on its Airbus A350 for the roughly 10-hour route between Amsterdam and the Dutch Caribbean Island of Curaçao. “The Only Adult zone is located in the front area of the plane and is only accessible to passengers 16 years and up,” the airline stated on its site.
At the same time, in 2019, Japan Airlines launched a booking feature called “baby map,” which indicates the seats occupied by passengers up to two years old. Travellers booking through the airline’s website can view these seats, marked with a child icon.
