Over half of British children would choose being read a story by their parents over an extra 30 minutes screen time, according to a new study into family reading habits released today.

The research was commissioned by the UK’s largest airline, easyJet, to mark the launch of a European-wide initiative to make it easy for parents and children to make reading part of their holiday this summer.

Some 300 ‘Flybraries’ hit the runways today stocked with over 60,000 children’s books in seven languages ready for children and parents to pick up, read and then leave behind for the next passenger.

easyJet is teaming up with leading publisher HarperCollins Children’s Books to put books in the passenger seat-pockets of flights departing the UK. 

The featured titles include; Dinosaur Juniors by Rob Biddulph, Mog and Bunny by Judith Kerr, Paddington Abroad by Michael Bond, The Boy Who Could Do What He Liked by David Baddiel, and Geek Girl by Holly Smale.

Katie Piper and author Rob Biddulph launched easyJet’s Flybraries initiative at London Luton Airport today with a special reading and book signing for young travellers. 

Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, said: “Reading books is a great way to widen horizons and set children on the path to a successful future.

“Parents play an important role in getting their children excited about reading and it’s great to see that over half of British parents plan to share stories with their children this summer.

“easyJet’s Flybrary initiative is a fantastic way of helping thousands more children keep up their reading skills during the long break and giving families the chance to enjoy stories on holiday.”