A mother in China sparked public outrage after allowing her noisy son to disturb other airline passengers and burst into the first-class cabin, delaying the flight for an hour.
The incident occurred on August 15 as a domestic flight was preparing to depart from Chongqing in southwest China, The Paper reported.
A young boy, whose age was not disclosed, cried and complained to his mother that the economy class seats were too narrow, and then remained standing in the aisle.
The mother ignored the flight attendant’s request to return her son to his seat and allowed him to enter the first-class cabin.
“There are empty seats. Why don’t you just let us sit here?” the woman said in a video that went viral on mainland social media.
Several flight attendants tried to persuade the couple to return to their seats, but they were ignored.
Other passengers became angry and voices could clearly be heard in the video saying, “Get off the plane!” and “Don’t waste time talking to her, just get her out!”
An hour later the plane finally took off.
It is unclear whether the woman received a punishment for her behavior. The name of the airline was also not mentioned in the report.
The mother’s behavior sparked a wave of criticism on mainland social media.
“There are many free places in the prisons. She can sit there,” said one online observer.
“It’s not the child’s fault. It’s about the parents’ education. She should be held fully responsible for the inconvenience she caused to other passengers,” said another.
Internet users also commented on how the airline handled the disruption.
“The flight attendants did not handle the disruption well. In addition, the company did not give passengers an explanation for the flight delay or offer them compensation,” said one observer.
Incidents involving airplane seats repeatedly make headlines in China.
Last year, an elderly lady is said to have insulted a young woman on a domestic flight operated by Jiangxi Airlines because she refused to swap her window seat.
The elderly lady insisted on sitting by the window because she suffered from high blood pressure and a heart condition. A flight attendant resolved the situation by moving her to another seat.
