Should unruly children be asked to get off a flight?

Question

Was it fair for the Seattle family to be booted off of the flight? Im still undecided.

Answer 1

YES

Answer 2

ABSOLUTELY!  Parents are required to control their children!  If there were children with behavior problems, a physician or healthcare provider should have evaluated the children for thier fitness for flying.  Sedation or anxiety medications could have been given to them for thier own safety and that of the passengers.  Imagine if there had been a real emergency on board?  That family likely would have jeopardized the lives of countless passengers.

Answer 3

I haven't heard the story either, but if the parents cannot contol their children, yes they should be asked to leave.  It's not fair (or safe!) for others on the flight to have to put up with uncontrolled, out of hand kids.

Answer 4

I don't think "special needs" toddlers posed any danger of bringing down the flight.

I've been on flights where mothers are outnumbered by their kids and, for one reason or another, they get scared or fussy.  Try a little human compassion and empathy for her situation, or here's a novel idea... try to help.

I'm appauled at the airlines actions and have no doubt they should be held accountable.  I'd be embarassed to work for Southwest.

Answer 5

Yes... If they can't behave they are too young to fly..

Answer 6

Yes, if the flight hasn't lifted off yet. No, if it's a long flight, it may be very expensive.

Answer 7

The kids running up and down the aisle is the first bad sign.  The mother needed to let her kids know that they need to be in their seats pretty much the whole time.   Since she knew that there were going to be some challenges because it was the kids' first flight, she should have really prepared a lot more for the contingencies.  

Being told twice by the FAs to calm her kids down is one time too many.  

The mother just didn't think the trip through and she's not living up to her responsibility for the consequences of her lack of foresight, but her inability to control her own kids.

Answer 8

I haven't seen this story, so like others, i can't comment to the best of my ability.  that being said, I think I'd be like you.  Undecided.  I can understand disturbing other people, but look at it another way too.  Sometimes, kids are going to be kids.  Punishing the parents for the way their child is acting is like saying you're not raising them to the best of your ability (in other words, telling them that they aren't doing their job)ALL kids have their days.  

Now, that being said...my children know better lol

Answer 9

Adults and children who cannot behave politely & safely should voluntarily leave an aircraft (or restaurant, store, public place of any kind).

Answer 10

In the story I read the parent admitted the children were out of control...Yes, the family should have to leave the plane when it lands instead of getting on the next flight.

Kids running around, out of their seats on an airplane can be a hazard to themselves and others, and they intefere with the flight crew. Buying a ticket does not give you the right to make anyone else's flight miserable or unsafe.

Answer 11

Yes.  

I only wish there was some way to enforce this rule on all public transportation.

Answer 12

I feel that if these children could not be controlled by 2 adult (the mother and aunt) that they should have been kicked off.  Have you ever been on a flight with a problem child?  I was on a non stop from FL to OH and had a small child sitting on her mothers lap and kept kicking the back of my seat the whole flight.  I would turn around and give her a look but it didn't work.

Why shouldn't they.  The other passangers should not have to put up with 4 out of control children. The mother admitted that they were.

I saw the grandmother on the news who said they should be paid because of it.  Well that family should pay all the other passangers who had to be on the same plane.

Answer 13

I just watched the video too....yes, they should have been booted.  While it is OK for children to walk around, they must be controlled.  The noise level also has to be controlled for the sake of other passengers.  I pay a lot of money to fly, I don't want kids running around and disrupting me.

Answer 14

Well I just watched the video and one child has autism and the other has cerebral palsy!! I can't believe they were kicked off and stranded with no money, I don't care how "trashy" they were as one answerer mentioned above.  Sometimes people need to get to one destination from another and need to fly in a plane, if airlines can't handle special needs children they should have designated areas in the plane for these children.  It just sounds ridiculous to me to do that to this family.  Like one answerer said, where is the compassion in people these days!

Answer 15

I haven't seen the news, so I can't say for sure. But here's my 2 cents...I think they should be removed only if their safety and that of the passengers is being compromised, otherwise, let 'em fly.

Answer 16

Put yourself in the place of the other passengers. We they aggravated? It depends on whether it infringes on the rights of others who paid good money and had a reasonable expectation of a calm flight.

If I remember correctly, the others interviewed thought the airline did the right thing.

Answer 17

I am not familiar with the story, but if children are being so disruptive that it is bothering other passengers, then yes, they should be. Adults would be and if parents can't control their children, then other people should not have to pay the price. That said, if the children were young, then nobody can control a bored toddler or preschooler, so if they were not very old, then no.

Also, people must remember that diverting a flight and putting people off it is a very expensive business for the airline. It is not like stopping a bus. Therefore, they MUST have good reason to do it.

Answer 18

Sure, if a parent can't control their kids the people around them shouldn't have to suffer.

Answer 19

A person who won't get into a seatbelt (child or adult) should politely be given a chance to get into the seatbelt and if they don't, politely removed from the plane.  I emphasize *politely* -- especially in the case of a kid who may just be terrified.  If everyone is calm, polite, and understanding, then that may by itself resolve the problem.  If it doesn't, then of course it's reasonable to take them off the flight and give them time to calm down before putting them on another flight.  The other passengers shouldn't be held up indefinitely, nor should a kid fly without a seatbelt.  They should be willing to be held up two minutes to give the kid a chance, however.

If it's just a typical amount of kid noise, though, that's another matter, and the kid should stay on and people should realize that if they're in a public place then they have to deal with the public, including typical kids.

Answer 20

Absolutely!  The situation on the Southwest Airline flight had to have been really bad for the airline to boot the family off of the plane and the mother admitted that the children were out of control.  

I fly frequently and have been on several flights when there have been children that were out of control.  On one transatlantic flight there were 2 young boys chasing each other all over the plane and not a parent in sight.  Later on in that same flight a young girl started running around the plane, again, not a parent in sight.

On another flight, the mother went to sleep and left the father to deal with 3 children.  The youngest of which wouldn't shut up and she was not terrified on crying with ear troubles - she just wouldn't shut up).  The gentleman in front of them finally got up, turned around and politely asked the father to do something about the little girl.  The father's reply was that she was just a little girl - excuses.  There was never any effort to teach this girl the concept of indoor and outdoor voice.

On another flight from Boston to Dallas this mother had a little boy that ran up and down the aisle for most of the flight (even trying to go in the cockpit at one point in time) and a little girl who screamed her head off the entire time.  The flight attendent finally handed out earphones to the passengers to try to drown out the noise.  The mother did absolutely nothing to try to deal with her children.

If parents aren't willing to teach their children how to behave in public then they have no business bringing them onto a plane.

Cudos to Southwest Airlines.  I wish more airlines would take this stand.

Answer 21

yes of course

Answer 22

I didn't hear the story, but if it was out of control...then yes. If they were just on a long flight and got fussy then no. There's a line somewhere...I think once they are screaming and throwing stuff and causing disruption, by all means time to get them out of there.

Answer 23

i unfortunately don't know the details of the story you are referring to, but I think in general that yes kids who are causing a disturbance should be kicked off flights...you are about to stuck in a very enclosed space with a bunch of strangers for usually a couple of hours or more, and if you cant keep your kids under control, see ya!

Answer 24

Now, most of the time, I would side with the family. Absolutely, kids are kids, and if you do what you can to control them, and it doesn't work, especially with special needs, then people should try to understand. HOWEVER, I just saw the video... this could sound horrible, but these people look like trash. They look like they just came out of the worst hole in the wall shack to catch a flight... I doubt they disciplined their kids at all. And the flight attendant asked them TWICE to calm the children down, an they were SHOCKED that the airline followed through and removed them from the flight? I'll post a link to the video.

I absolutely feel the airlines did the right thing, removing them. I do think they should have given them another flight, or paid for another flight, or something, but I think taking them off the airplane to settle down is perfectly acceptable. If it happened to me, I'd understand after them having asked repeatedly to settle the children down. There are at least 100 other people on that flight that want you to manage your children.