Toddler Removed from Flight for Throwing a Tantrum?
Is it just me or does United seem to end up in the media with some regularity over issues related to "kicking families off the plane" or similar? Maybe I just key into those stories more since I fly United most frequently, but I just don't seem to hear stories with the same frequency about the other airlines. Anyway, it's another day and there is another story about United (well to be more specific, a Skywest operated flight) kicking a mom and one-year-old off a plane for crying, or unruly behavior, or being in the aisle, or being a threat...depending on which version you believe.
If you want to catch up, here is a story about the event as well as a video from the mom (a singer) chatting with TMZ about what happened. You never know how events actually went down, but she seems like a calm and pretty sane person to me.
Here are some things that seem to be facts:
The flight was scheduled to fly from San Francisco to Vancouver and the mom was seated in a window seat with her 23-month-old as a "lap baby". Before departure the child was crying very loudly and squirming, even according to the mom, and there were instructions from the flight attendant for the mom to calm the child down. When this didn't happen in a timely enough fashion the plane returned to the gate and the mom and child were removed, despite the child being asleep by this point.
What is very much disputed is whether the child was in the aisle or not before departure. The mom said that he was not, and could not have been, given that they were the window seat and someone else was seated next to them in the aisle seat. I wonder whether the child was perhaps not staying still in the mom's lap and trying to (or succeeding) in getting down in the space in front of her seat as opposed to the aisle. This isn't an issue of the child not staying in the seat belt as he wouldn't have had one as a lap child. Either way, this sounds like a full-on temper tantrum the child was throwing, likely because they were too tired (since he passed out maybe 7-9 minutes later).
Okay, so way unfortunate that the almost-two-year old had a full-on meltdown at a very bad time. However, anyone who knows anything about toddlers knows that no matter how good a parent you are, epic meltdowns just happen sometimes. It wasn't super common with our own kid, but it did happen occasionally and it isn't pretty, it isn't fun, but sometimes it is just unavoidable. Toddlers occasionally lose their ^$%# and they aren't yet old enough to really be able to reason with effectively at that point. Luckily, as it happened in this case, that level of insanity is usually short lived and hopefully followed up with a well deserved rest for everyone. The stress and weird schedules associated with traveling can make it more likely that a toddler will be off their normal routine and more apt to get too tired and act a little wonky.
So, what should happen when a one or two year old acts like a crazy psychotic monkey on a plane? Well, my very best advice is to try and ward off this issue in the first place. To do so, I'm going to strongly recommend that an almost two year old has their own seat. I know lap infants are a hot topic, and I'm probably going to fly my second child as a lap infant some in their first year for a number of reasons. Yes, I know there are some slight safety trade-offs, but to avoid sounding like a hypocrite I'm not standing on a soap box saying your a bad parent if you don't pay the extra cash or miles to book your brand new baby a seat when you are likely going to be holding/nursing them anyway.
However, by 23 months old you and your child will almost certainly be better off if they are strapped in a car seat or CARES Harness in their own seat. No matter how loud they cry, they probably cannot escape a car seat at that age. If they can't escape their seat the airline can't very easily say they are a disruptive danger (to anything other than ear drums). Here is my own toddler flying in both a CARES Harness and her own car seat.
That being said, if there is a situation like this one what should happen? I understand the flight crew can't have a kid flailing in the aisles or whatnot at take-off, but I haven't encountered too many 23-month-olds that are so out of control that they warrant turning a plane back to the gate and forcing the family off the plane. I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but it just seems like a stretch for that to be the best course of action assuming the parent is otherwise cooperative, which this ones seems to have been.
The flight ended up being delayed around an hour for this event and yet the kid was passed out before the plane got back to the gate. I don't have the perfect answer to these sort of situations, but I can't help but wish everyone had a smidge more patience and understanding that goes beyond deeming a 23 month old a threat that needs to be removed.
In the meantime, here are a whole collection of posts that have tips and tricks related to flying with a toddler so that you can hopefully never be the family who is asked to get off the plane.
What are your thoughts about a toddler being deemed a threat for throwing a tantrum?
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.