Canadian singer Sarah Blackwood says she was recently kicked off United Airlines flight 6223 because her almost-two-year-old son was … crying.
Blackwood and her son were about to fly from San Francisco to Vancouver this week when he began to fuss. "It was just one of those days," she says.
"I was holding him in my lap and he was upset and crying really loud. I was trying my best to calm him down, but there’s only so much you can do."
Her fellow passengers seemed sympathetic, she says.
The staff? Not so much. On the contrary, in fact.
"I was approached a few times by the two flight attendants on the plane, telling me to ‘control my child.’" Blackwood recalls, and it got worse.
"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."
Blackwood, who is also seven months pregnant, was relieved when, less than 10 minutes later, her son dozed off. But the damage was done.
The plane stopped taxiing and returned to the gate, where a flight attendant approached Blackwood and asked her to please leave the plane.
"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," she says. "I just said to her, ‘Please don’t do this.’"
The staff "doesn’t feel safe," Blackwood was told.
Several of her fellow fliers stood up for her, but she was forced out, and she says United Airlines response has left her "more appalled."
The company’s partner SkyWest Airlines, which was operating Blackwood’s flight on Wednesday, said in a statement to People:
"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 travelers, particularly families, the crew made the appropriate decision to return to the gate in the interest of safety."
Blackwood’s response to that explanation?
"We were in a window seat with a gentleman beside us," she says, calling BS on that statement. "My son wasn’t even close to an aisle."
"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."
She Tweeted Wednesday night:
- Just got kicked off a @united flight because my son was crying really loud. Stayed calm but overall #Discrimination #motherhaters @united
- Apparently my little 2 yr old crying son was a big threat to @united UA6223.MY 2 YR OLD!A threat?!?! Kicked us off the plane @discrimination
- Arrived in Vancouver. 5hr travel day turned in 2 a 12hr mess with @united. 7mnths pregnant, and kicked off a flight for crying 2yr old. Sick
Blackwood also shared several angry comments that her fellow fliers wrote on United’s Facebook page, and supportive ones she received.
She takes comfort in knowing that her story has gone viral, and may make a difference in how airlines treat passengers in the future.
"I’m glad that this broke through," Blackwood says. "I just wish that the airline would actually own up to the mistake that they made."