飞机和火车应设儿童隔离区？

拥挤的车厢或机舱中，疲惫的旅客们正欲休息，忽然传来一阵小孩的哭声。被打扰的旅客纷纷将目光投向孩子的家长，而这些或带些许不满的目光又让家长倍感压力和不安。为了应对这样的尴尬场面，亚航决定从明年2月起在飞机经济舱中开设“安静区”，只有12岁及以上的乘客才可在该区域就坐，无需额外支付费用。对于那些没有孩子以及容易被打扰的旅客来说，这无疑是个好消息。不过很多有孩子的家长则对此表示不满，称这样与其他乘客隔离开来，感觉自己像二等公民。英国一家网站今年4月对1600多人进行调查后发现，有53%的人赞成开通不搭载儿童的航班；8月份的另一个调查显示，超过三分之一的英国人表示愿意多付钱乘坐没有儿童乘客的航班。虽然得到不少支持，不过航空公司在真正实施的时候也有不少困难。比如，小型飞机空间有限，就算隔离出“安静区”，现实意义也不大。另外，不搭载儿童乘客可能会使航空公司失去不少客源，从而影响其经济利益。

At 35,000ft, the klaxon-like howl of a distressed toddler screeches through a pressurized cabin.

For travelers already stressed by lengthy security checks, crammed into cramped seating and unnerved by the very fact of being so high above ground, it's almost enough to make them shatter the Plexiglas windows and jump.

And it's a source of anxiety for the embarrassed parents, too, desperately trying to pacify their wailing offspring while facing disapproving stares from fellow adults.

One airline is offering what it says is a solution. Budget carrier Air Asia says from February it will provide a "quiet zone" for passengers aged 12 and over at no extra cost.

Separated from the rest of the cabin by toilets and bulkheads, these seven rows of economy class seats should be immune from the sound of infant tantrums, the company claims.

It is following the example of Malaysia Airlines, which in April announced it would limit families with children sitting on the upper deck of its Kuala Lumpur to London service.

For the childless and the easily irritable, it may be a blessed relief.

Equally, many parents will surely be disgruntled at the suggestion they should be segregated from other passengers like second-class citizens.

UK train operators which provide "quiet coaches" instruct commuters not to use their phones and ensure music devices aren't heard by other passengers - but no mention is made of infant noise pollution.

In April, a survey of 1,666 British adults by Jetcost.co.uk found that 53% supported child-free flights.

A poll by Tripadvisor in August found that over a third of Britons would be prepared to pay extra to travel by air without the presence of children.

But although airlines could presumably charge a healthy premium for the privilege of no-infant compartments, there might be logistical difficulties.

In smaller aircraft, with different layouts to those used by Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines, screening off the sound of crying children will not always be practical. Adult-only flights would mean reducing the number of available customers, and thus have a negative impact on profitability.

And perhaps most importantly, introducing segregation would risk infuriating families who resent the idea they should be treated as second-class citizens.