Airline Attendants and the TSA are losing their ability to relate to people and might be letting their powers go to the extreme. Obviously the TSA has had its own set of problems and faced reasonable scrutiny on various issues. Recently, Mommy Points elaborated on the unruly agents from TSA making a nursing mom use her breast pump to ensure it was “safe” and was used for its intended purpose. The whole experience makes me cringe and wonder where were the supervisors that allowed these agents to treat other people with disrespect. Real safety and concerns on an airplane are a reality in today’s world. However, we need to use some common sense when it comes to adhering to the rules.
This week, via the Today Show, I heard the story of the family on board a JetBlue flight last month that was kicked off due to a toddler’s tantrum. The family was on their return flight from the Turks and Caicos to Boston. According to the parents report, for approximately five minutes the family attempted to try and calm down their toddler and get her strapped into the seat so the flight could take off. After getting her securely fastened, the flight attendants came over and said they were being removed from the plane for violating Federal Aviation Rules.
Exactly what rule did the family break? I highly doubt they were refusing to properly fasten their daughter into the seat. According to a statement from JetBlue, “The captain elected to remove the customers involved for the safety of all customers and crew members on board.” Really? What threat does a screaming two year old have on the safety of everyone on board the flight? The allegations are simply ludicrous and an overstepping of the powers instilled on the airlines.
Both my wife and my initial opinions was outrage that a family could be treated in such a manner in a moment of already heightened awareness and stress for a parent. Then we quickly realized both parents were pediatricians, and that if anyone should know the proper way to harness the situation, it was these parents. I have no doubt in my mind this family reacted the correct way to calm their daughter and get her into the seat.
The reality is that a family would be exhausted by the end of their trip and just want to get home. Depending on the arrangement of the flights, the toddlers sleep pattern was disrupted (i.e. she did not get her normal nap). In addition, the toddler was used to sitting in the parents lap, and was not accustomed to sitting in her own seat. We absolutely understand this toddlers reaction, and can relate to the parents attempts to correct the situation. While we have not been put into this same situation yet, we can absolutely see it happening. It is the human factor and how we can relate to other parents. This story has nothing to do with poor parenting, and more about an airlines attempts to overstep their powers. Do other people forget what it is like to raise a 2-year old? They get a mind of their own, yet still do not grasp the full concept of right and wrong.
I consider myself one of the most aware people when it comes to how my family and our actions can influence other people. I get embarrassed when my son gets upset out in public, and work to correct the situation, including removing myself and him from the area is feasible. However, inside an airplane during takeoff there are few solutions. After the plane becomes airborne, there are plenty of more options that become available to calm down the child.
I also can understand the pilot was waiting for the all clear to have the flight take off. I am making some assumptions on how the scenario played out. The child was probably strapped into her seat, yet upset at the situation. As the plane taxied out to the runway, the parents unbuckled the child and held her to try and get her to calm down. Near takeoff, the flight attendants radioed to the pilot that there was an unsecured passenger. The pilots had to radio to the tower that they could not yet move the airplane because a passenger was not yet securely seated. Meanwhile the parents worked to secure the child, while she continued to throw a tantrum. I understand all that. Yet somehow the whole situation escalated to an unreasonable stance to remove them from the plane. The frustrating thing for me is that inevitably that unboarding process took more time to delay the flight and embarrasses the family along the way. However, I think there is still something more about this story that has not come out, and that there was more than 5 minutes between the entire ordeal. Something else went wrong that is not being heard.
What even baffles me more is that 70% of people polled (according to the Today Show readers) agree that the family should have been removed from the plane. Really? I can understand not having your children disrupt the other passengers and how the plane could not take off. Other people onboard the plane were entitled to an uninterrupted flight too. However, where is the human factor and the compassion for other people? Where is the understanding from anyone that has raised young children to realize that when a child gets tired and placed into an unfamiliar situation, they may throw a fit. They are raising a two-year old, and we all know what that may mean. When the child is acting unruly, it does not mean the parents are not working to correct the situation. Their reaction does not mean they are poor parents. It means everyone needs to step back and relax a moment and relate to other people. The same people that agreed this family should have been removed from the plane are the same masses that think parents should not travel with their children. I wholeheartedly disagree!
In reality, the issue has nothing to do with the flight’s “safety and security.” Yes the child needed to be properly secured for takeoff. Understandable. However, if the situation was corrected, there is no need to kick the family off of the plane. I believe this family was doing what was in their power to calm their daughter, and only when the plane was ready for takeoff, and departure was threatened, did they have to make a business decision on whether to remove the family or not so as not to impede on the rest of the airlines schedule. I see and understand both sides of the story, and that is what scares me about our upcoming flights when traveling with two toddlers.
“In a cents,” this story makes us have trepidation for our long flights to Hawaii this summer with our two boys. The first thing my wife and I said to each other is we are doomed. If this family got kicked off a plane after only five minutes of a tantrum, what do we need to do to control a situation should it occur? I do not think resorting to Benadryl is the best solution. However, maybe alcohol is the best response. Somehow I do not think purchasing everyone on the plane a Bloody Mary (see the episode of Up All Night) will get the job done, but who is thirsty? The first round is on us.
