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Airline removes crying child from flight

Thursday, November 5, 2009

By Gemma Pitcher
MSN NZ Travel writer

An airline in the United States has kicked a mother and toddler off their flight because the child was screaming too loudly.

Pamela Root, 38, and her son Adam boarded a plane from Amarillo, Texas, to San Jose, but the toddlers' screams of "Go plane, go!" and "I want Daddy" grew so loud, despite attempts to calm him, that the other passengers could not hear the pre-flight safety announcements. The pilot then taxied the plane back to the gate, where the mother and son were asked to leave the flight.

The airline later apologised to Ms Root for the inconvenience, awarding her $300 in travel vouchers, but stood by its position that the toddler's screams constituted a safety issue. The 38-year-old mum said she was confident her son's screaming would have subsided once the flight was in the air, and that she hoped to be compensated for the portable crib and diapers she had to buy for the extra night away from home.

According to an MSNBC poll, a full 76 percent of people take Southwest’s side in the matter, applauding the removal of the offending toddler. The consensus on the Southwest side is that kids his age probably should not fly, and that perhaps the mother was not parenting well enough. On the families’ side, many parents chimed in with words like compassion and understanding.

What do you think? Do you think that screaming kids are just part of life, or do you agree that they should be thrown off flights?

Have your say below.

User comments

I for one agree to a quick slap on the backside,just too show the child who is boss,nothing worse than a screaming kid or kids on a long haul flight,bad enough just in a super market. I suffer from industrial deafness,but a childs high pitch screach is one of the higher noises you have to attend with,other than a jet noise,or crack of a gun going off. It must be distressing for that parent to have to leave a flight,because the child had taken over her control.

I totally agree with the airline they made the right choice.Recently we were in a supermarket and a screaming child made the shopping a nitemare both parents were with the child yes one of them could have taken the child out to th car . amazing thing was they were parked next to our car and wow they had left three children in the car and elected to take the screaming skull in with them.

I am in accord with the airline. There is nothing worse than a toddler who, for whatever reason, is holding other travelers stress levels to ransom. Adults have rights also and those airline tickets are too expensive to endure the unrestrained behaviour of anyone else, be it a child or a drunk passenger. Once in the air, there is not much that can be done, but while on terra firma - all power to the captain!

I totally agree - the toddler should have been taken off the flight - flying is a priviledge not a right and I'm sorry but parents believe that no one else exists except their previous little pain in the ***!

I have the 3 most beautiful kids in the world and I love them dearly.They are 5,3 and 2 years old.Last christmaswhen my husband and I were still together we all flew to Auckland and things went pretty well by my books.Yes my 3 year old who was 2 at that time cried when the blinds had to be open simply because he was scared ( it was a new experience ) but the rest of the time he was great and my baby didn't even cry.Sometimes its hard as parents to distract kids and it doesn't matter where you are they can be completely unpredictable any parent knows and understands this.The child in this instance was obviously excited and just wanting to get up into the air.C'mon give the mother and the kid a break.I would be jumping up and down screaming up up if I thought it would get me in the air any faster!Its a long time for a kid to wait while everyone gets on the plane and the crew go through all their checks and things.Yes I can understand the safety issue but OMG who actually listens anyway?

That Was Awful And Selfcentered That Airline Needs To Be Shut Down!

If the kid is distracting the crew and the noise is interfering with the crew doing their job properly, then they have to exit until the kid has calmed down. In the meantime, the flight still has to leave on it's schedule, so tough bikkies for that parent. Part and parcel of being a parent. If an adult was making that much noise deliberate or not, the or she'd be booted off in a heartbeat. Simple as that.

This lady got US $300 in travel vouchers and they said sorry and she still got to point B eventually. She still wants reimbursment for her costs? What about reimbursing the other passengers for the eardrum damage? It's just as silly an argument. Adult chat over the safety announcements (although rude), is never loud enough to totally drown it out, unlike a screaming child. Inconveniencing one parent vs the comfort of the rest of the flight is fair enough I say. Kick 'em to the curb.

Only 2 wks ago, a flight I was on, a father was with his toddler, and yes this toddler is a boy...... This toddler was doing a hissy fit, as they do, in a closed environment, well this plan was full, and the looks this father received from other passengers, the glare.....fake smile...you know the smile that says, 'Control that child'....... I am a Child Advocate, I could see both Dad & the hostess tried their hardest to settle this young future leader, and lucky for me, I was sitting next to a 'Childcare' Student. So I started yahooing, as a child does, 'the plan is going to fly' yelling out ' we are going up to the sky' and the childcare student joined in. As boys will be boys, he became excited, and stopped crying and looked at his dad with a smile that was priceless........ Dad looked back to us, and in slient 'Thank you' 'I am sitting in my seat, lets go' little boys thoughts. Wouldn't even care about closing the door. Just go.

As a mother of three (one singleton and twins) I have travelled on my own with all three children under 5.....preparation - planning and telling the kids what behaviour is expected from day one not just prior to a flight ...... personally if I had a choice I would never travel with a child who was unable to understand the expectations of the behaviour required and that is not only on an aircraft but how about restaurants and cafes......some things are not part of a childs world!

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