Deirdre Reynolds: A peaceful plane trip with kids is just a flight of fancy

So I’ll be fielding no complaints about the child-free zones set to be trialled on flights being offered by a Dutch airline later this year.

Starting from November 3, Corendon Dutch Airlines will offer an adults-only area on flights between Amsterdam and the Caribbean island of Curacao, complete with walls and curtains separating it from the rest of the plane to create “a shielded environment that contributes to a calm and relaxed flight”.

And that sounds like €45 well spent, if you ask me.

Being stuck next to a screaming baby has been voted one of the most head-wrecking things about flying.

Although, I’d be happy to stump up the €100 the airline is planning to charge for extra-large seats in the section to avoid sitting next to man babies like the Southwest Airlines passenger who went viral earlier this year when he had a meltdown over a crying infant on a Florida-bound flight.

Suffice to say, that when it comes to the sardine tin environment that is modern air travel, young children suffering from ‘airplane ear’ are hardly the worst offenders.

But, while I haven’t yet entered “shut that baby up” territory, like tantrum man, as someone who is child-free, childless - call it what you like - I'll be the first in line to give the new seats a go.

That's if they haven't all been snapped up already by the mums and dads who know all too well about the stress of travelling with smallies.

The parents of 18 month-old twin girls Ashley and Abby weren't going to risk the wrath of intolerant travellers, anyway, when they placated fellow passengers with chocolate during their daughters’ first flight to visit their grandparents in Florida in 2016.

An accompanying note read: “We’ll try to keep our cool, but in case we decide to get crazy, we’ve provided a sweet treat and some ear plugs for your enjoyment.”

Not that they should have to apologise for flying with their offspring, it was a thoughtful gesture, which is not something that can be said for TikToker Samuel Leeds, who earlier this year boasted of travelling in first class with his wife on the social media site, while his young children (and their nanny) slummed it in economy in order to “teach them a lesson”.

Was the lesson that mummy and daddy are assholes, I wonder?

Speaking about the ‘Only Adult zone’, launched in response to customer feedback, Corendon Dutch Airlines told how they hoped it would have a “positive effect” for both parents and non-parents.

They’re not the first airline to make such a change after Japan Airlines unveiled a new online tool to help passengers avoid sitting next to children aged between eight days and two years old.

Now if they could warn where the sock removers, seat kickers and snorers are sitting, I’d be completely on board.