An “unruly toddler” grounded a Toronto-bound flight after refusing to sit down and buckle up, leaving an entire plane of passengers stranded overnight and the airline trying to explain what went wrong.
The unusual travel nightmare unfolded on Aug. 6 aboard a redeye Porter Airlines flight, which was scheduled to carry passengers from Victoria International Airport in British Columbia to Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The aircraft – which has 132 seats – had already pulled away from the terminal and was taxiing toward the runway when the problem inside the cabin became impossible to ignore.
A young child was “standing in their seat and would not secure their seatbelt,” and “attempts by the accompanying parent and crew to address this were unsuccessful,” according to a statement released by the airline.
“The aircraft could not take off in this unsafe condition, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the passengers disembark,” Porter added.
But getting there didn’t bring a quick end to the ordeal.
‘It took forever’
Passenger Hillary Hertzberg said the situation dragged on for close to an hour before the child and accompanying parent finally left the aircraft.
“It took forever,” Hertzberg told CBC News. “The kid eventually got off the plane at 11:30 [p.m.], so we had been on the flight for about almost an hour at that point.”
By then, the clock had become another problem.
Removing the pair, retrieving their baggage and completing the necessary paperwork took enough time that the aircraft could no longer depart before Victoria’s “scheduled airfield closure” at 12:30 a.m., according to Porter spokesperson Brad Cicero.
Instead of flying to Toronto that night, everyone onboard had to get off.
“We apologize for the effect this had on other passengers, who were able to depart on a flight the following day,” Cicero said.
For passengers suddenly stranded in Victoria, however, frustration over the cancellation was only part of the story, as people onboard came away with very different impressions of the child at the center of it.
‘They’re obviously terrified’
In an interview with The Canadian Press (CP), passenger Aryeh Kozuch admitted there was “a lot of frustration” inside the cabin, but he pushed back against suggestions that the child was simply throwing a tantrum or running wild.
“I’m not gonna lie, I never even considered the idea that it was gonna be an unruly toddler,” Toronto’s Kozuch told CP. “I thought it was an unruly adult.”
From where Kozuch was sitting, the child’s behavior looked much more like fear.
“They just kept hiding under their seat. If they got forced into [being] strapped in, they just kind of slid out underneath,” the 26-year-old said.
“This was a child that was in a tube with 150 people…They’re obviously terrified, and their response was to try and hide under the seat in front of them,” Kozuch continued, adding, “That’s so different than a kid running around and screaming.”
‘Selfish behavior’
The bigger argument online centered on the parent, particularly after Kozuch said he wouldn’t have expected them to physically force a child into a seatbelt with a plane full of passengers watching.
Plenty of people disagreed.
“Actually, that’s exactly what I’d expect the parents to do,” one Reddit user wrote.
Another argued that when it came to getting safely buckled into an airplane seat, there was little room for negotiation.
“I absolutely would judge the hell out of the parents for not forcing the kid into the seatbelt,” the commenter wrote. “There are very few times where things are non-optional, and this is one of them.”
For others, the bigger issue was how long the situation was allowed to continue before the family left the aircraft.
“About 10-15 mins I’d also expect the parents to leave the airplane instead of inconveniencing every other passenger on the flight,” one person wrote. “Instead, it took an hour…This is completely on [the parents] and their selfish behavior.”
Another added, “Obviously – it’s the parents’ fault for dragging their toddler on a red eye and then not parenting them.”
Porter has apologized for the disruption but has not publicly said whether passengers will receive compensation for expenses connected to the cancellation.
Do you think the child’s fear justified the delay, or should the parent have taken responsibility sooner rather than inconvenience an entire plane full of passengers? Please let us know your thoughts and then share this story so we can get the conversation going!
READ MORE
- Woman stirs drama after refusing to switch plane seats with child
- Airline introduces exclusive ‘adults-only’ section for a peaceful travel experience
