Listen. We've all been there. You've either been the parent at the end of their tether, or someone rolling their eyes furiously, audibly tutting "do you not know how to pacify your child?" Either way, you're thinking "Man, this is going to be a loooooooong flight."
Singer Sarah Blackwood didn't even get that chance, it would seem. According to People, she was kicked off United Airlines flight 6223 from San Francisco to Vancouver while it was still trundling around the airport. Here's what happened:
"I was holding him in my lap and he was getting upset and crying really loud. It was just one of those days where I was trying my best to calm him down, but there's only so much you can do."
Despite being at the receiving end of several sympathetic looks, she was approached by staff: "I was approached a few times by the two flight attendants on the plane, telling me to 'control my child.' They said I was his parent and I should know how to calm him down, and if I wasn't able to do that they would have to turn the plane around."
Just got kicked off a @united flight because my son was crying really loud. Stayed calm but overall #Discrimination #motherhaters @united
— Sarah Blackwood (@SarahBlackwood1) May 27, 2015
Seemingly, ten minutes later, the two-year-old fell asleep on his mother's lap. And yet the plane "stopped taxiing and returned to the gate." Needless to say, Blackwood was somewhat stunned into submission: "I don't like to make a big deal of anything; I don't like to make a fuss; I don't put up fights," the singer says. "I just said to her, 'Please don't do this.' But she said, 'The staff doesn't feel safe on the plane with your son.'"
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A statement was released to People magazine which read: "The crew made the difficult decision to remove Ms. Blackwood and her child from the flight based solely on safety concerns. Despite numerous requests, the child was not seated, as required by federal regulation to ensure passenger safety, and was repeatedly in the aisle of the aircraft before departure and during taxi. While our crews work to make traveling safe and comfortable for all travellers, particularly families, the crew made the appropriate decision to return to the gate in the interest of safety."
You'd think, fair enough. But, according to Sarah, that wasn't the case: "I'm more appalled now by the statement that they made, saying he was running around in the aisles, making him sound like a wild animal," Blackwood says. "We were in a window seat with a gentleman beside us. My son wasn't even close to an aisle."
Needless to say, Giorgio remained unfazed by his experience.
What's the worse thing that's ever happened to you on a flight?
