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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

Childrens are always noisy becouse they are children. We need to handle them softly. Don't forget you wear a child. You did the same way. If any one does not like kid should not be making any trouble in this case airline should arrange kids free flight for those passengers

My husband and I travelled to the UK for sons wedding in 2007 I had six weeks earlier undergone my second heart bypass surgery so we paid what I thought was an extreme amount of money to travel premium economy as this is the only way the specialist would let me travel. On the Jumbo there are seats downstairs just in front on economy which are premium economy the only thing dividing you is a curtain. Airlines put families with young children and babies in the front seats of economy so you are constantly disturbed by crying children. We had a toddler that screamed the whole way from Auckland to London. Staff at one point moved the mother and child to first class to try to calm the child but this failed and they returned to their seats. Maybe the answer is to put them at the rear of the plane. I appreciate it is a difficult situation but we paid $10,000 plus for our flights and it was an unpleasant experience.

There is no absolute right or wrong re crying childern on planes. Different levels of behaviour can be expected depending on age. For instance many babies cry when their ears become blocked on planes and there is nothing that can be done to stop them. there are things you can do to unblock their ears but if it doesn't work and they are in pain of course they will cry and people should just be sympathetic. You also can't expect toddlers to sit still for many hours and they will want to move about. They will also talk to and interact with other passengers. They will also cry at times particularly if they are being restrained and not getting their own way. This is perfectly normal, parents cannot stop it and i believe should be tolerated by other passengers. However there is also behaviour which is above and beyond what is acceptable in toddlers and also older children. The problem is it is not black and white and you cannot expect people with children not to travel.

I have travelled as a mother internationally every year on my own from the time my child was 9 months. There was NEVER a flight that she performed on and I would never have tolerated it. She is now 18 years and has travelled with me everywhere including around the world 4 times at 9 mths, 5 yrs, 8yrs, 14yrs. We travelled from economy to business class. I travelled with only one cabin bag for the two of us on any flt. The sooner parents understand parenting, get themselves organised, don't carry so much so they aren't stressed and learn to not be selfish and spend thier time with thier children entertaining them instead of sleeping and drinking, all the better. Go airline!!

I am in agreement with the airline. Flight tickets are too expensive to have to put up with all of that sort of thing, especially on a long haul flight. I understand in rare circumstances, taking a youngster on a flight cannot be helped.....but REALLY......I dont believe it is fair to take babies or toddlers onto aeroplanes in the first place!......Surely, unless it is absolutely neccessary, parents should wait until the children are alot older and better equipped to handle a flight....Domestically, around your own country, I believe another form of travel should be considered......otherwise, do some preparations for the children before hand....as the mother with the baby breastfeeding on takeoff and landing, the sensible parents that take books games etc on the plane to keep the children amused....all of these common sense things should always be adhered to.....I dont beleive affected parents are "Bad parents"....they just seem to be a little on the ignorant side.

I had 4 kids under 7 and travelled with them, I always had snacks, books, favourite toys, handy in my nappy bag and constantly talked to them about what was about to happen so they were not frightened or uncomfortable. I used to put the baby to the breast to calm it when taking off or descending. I had a seat belt supplied from the airline for the purpose no baby feels fear when snuggleing up to mum. Too many parents expect their children to cope with it like adults. Parents for the benefit of the other travelling public you DO have go out of your way to calm the child for the flight. no rushing them before and words of encouragement go a long way.

i was travelling back by plane from the acdc concert with my wife and two daughters one had a baby a passenger said as she got on i hope the baby wont cry and make a noise i was behind them and did not hear the comment otherwise i would have made a remark or smasked him in the mouth behind us getting on was another mum who had the the same comment made to her by the passenger i was disgusted in him his wife told him to shutup

They are children for gods sake.. not drunks or unruly adults that should know better.. they are kids.. let them be kids - its a part of life..they learn by being exposed to different experiences....its a new experience that some kids react to with tears, frustration, fear etc.. some don't - there isn't a perfect child out there.. so stop putting pressure on parents and children to be perfect - the world has enough problems... pay for business or first class if it bothers you that much.

Yes it's true that's just life. Loud kids will be asked to be sent off and that is just life. Although I do have sympathy for the mother who really has no way of mitigating the problem, that does not mean the rest of us should suffer throughout the flight. Perhaps the parents ought to take teach their kids how to be considerate a bit more?

I think these so called cultured people forget that they were kids one day and they never really screamed in their entire life. I don't know we as society are more stressed that we can't take this small stress. If you can't stand that, its certainly a sign of you being so stressed. But any way all good that legally good or politically correct. I am not sure what the court would say to that? A lawyer can tell that and would be good to know...