A man screaming that he was in “a tin can with a baby” had an epic meltdown on a Southwest Airlines flight from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale.
Those who have had children probably sympathize with the guy to some extent. But this particular rant was beyond reason and the pale. In a situation that called for a little understanding, the guy complained that the crying child had woken him from a nap and then cried for 40 minutes.
“I had headphones on,” he said.
He also argued with the flight attendants that he had “paid for a ticket to have a f—ing comfortable flight,” which the crying baby had then disturbed for him.
“We are in a f—ing tin can with a baby in a god—n echo chamber — and you want to talk to me about being f—ing OK?” the man is seen and heard yelling, among other things.
The flight was eventually diverted to Orlando International Airport, according to TMX.
Once the plane landed, the angry man refused to leave his seat — forcing the entire aircraft’s passengers to deplane, said Grabowski, according to TMX.
Other passengers seen in the TikTok video appeared both horrified and amused by the man’s behavior.
“He tried to plead his case that he had a right to yell because there were two adults with the crying baby and he shouldn’t have been disturbed,” Grabowski said, as TMX reported.
Charlotte Cripps, writing in The Independent, has it about right: “Stop shouting at babies on planes – nobody has the right to a ‘child-free’ existence.” Cripps relates her experience flying on planes with infants and toddlers.
I don’t know who or where the baby’s parents are right now – hopefully, their baby is asleep – but presumably, they are reeling from the incident and feel as powerless over the baby crying mid-air, as I always did.
On one flight to Dubai, in 2019, I had to wake my then-newborn baby Liberty out of one of those airplane cots that slot into the wall, because we had hit air turbulence. She started screaming the plane down, while my toddler Lola – then only two –had a meltdown because the Paw Patrol downloads on her iPad had expired.
Recommended: Illinois State Senator Says Flash Mob in Chicago Last Weekend Was a ‘Mass Protest’ and a ‘Political Act’
Being a parent is hard under any circumstances.
My own message is loud and clear. Stop shouting at babies on planes –people don’t have the right to a child-free existence. Us parents can’t help it if our babies cry on flights. It’s not always possible to leave the kids at home.
I understand that a good night’s sleep is important for mental health – and it’s worse being kept awake by a baby that isn’t even your own.
But people need to understand that kids exist too, and if they really hate that, then maybe they should make their own accommodations: for example, stump up to fly business class? Some noise cancelling headphones reduce the volume of crying sounds quite well too.
I will make the same comment I make about parents taking kids to church, or to ballgames, or movie theaters. Have consideration for others. Ms. Cripps may be a single parent and has to fly for her job, in which case she has little choice but to take her children with her. But what about the parents of the screaming baby flying to Florida? Is it possible they could have delayed their flight until the child was older? Was it absolutely necessary to bring an infant onboard with them?
A little common sense and common courtesy would go a long way toward preventing the outburst in the video above.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member