Many parents in the survey sympathise with this
situation, with over a third having endured
their child having a "meltdown" on an aircraft
and 13% of respondents stating their children
too have become upset after abruptly being told
to switch off electronic devices by the cabin
crew with no explanation or understanding of
why.
The unhappy child then refused to sit upright
with his seatbelt fastened; something one in
four of the parents surveyed have also
experienced, and his parents were finally told
they had to disembark the aircraft despite
having his seatbelt fastened, because he
wouldn’t sit upright.
Skyscanner's Mary Porter commented, “There can
be some challenges when flying with young
children as they are too young to understand why
they are being told to do certain things, but
this can be made less stressful for parents if
cabin crew staff can be more patient and
understanding during these times.
“Of course there are some safety requirements
that must be met by every passenger whatever
their age, however if cabin crew were
specifically trained to understand the needs of
families better and able to assist with the
youngest of airline passengers, the experience
could be stress-free for everyone and many of
these negative experiences could be completely
avoided.“
She continues, “Families contribute a huge
amount to the profit of airlines and everything
should be done to make this a more positive
experience and there is obviously a real need
for the aviation industry to address these
issues.”
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