Should children throwing tantrums be removed from flights?
I’m curious what others think about this. A family returning home from Florida was removed from their flight when their three year old child would not take her seat. The airline says the flight was already running 15 minutes late but does not specify whether that was because of the little girl’s tantrum or because of the airline’s own issues. It also doesn’t say whether they boarded early when passengers traveling with small children are allowed to load, which means we don’t know how long the little girl had been out of control—five minutes or thirty.
Personally, I think this is why it’s a good idea to bring a carseat on a flight. If they don’t want to sit, too bad. Strap ‘em in. On the other hand, I can understand a small child feeling overwhelmed, overtired, hungry, etc. when having to deal with air travel. Who knows how long they had been at the airport already? But I also know that if I was sitting on the flight with my own children, and they were being pretty patient, I wouldn’t want to wait an extra 15-30 minutes while someone else dealt with their child?
So, what do you think? How much leeway should parents of small children be given when loading an airplane?
