Family Kicked Off Jet Blue Flight for Toddler's Tantrum
A family preparing to embark upon a four-hour flight was left in shock after suddenly being kicked off the plane after their toddler began throwing a tantrum. The controversial action by the airline has caused a backlash, and has forced it to now issue a statement explaining its actions.
As mom Colette worked to settle her daughters Natalie, 2, and Cecilia, 3, into their seats, Natalie began acting up. She did not want to sit in her own seat, explains Colette. "We were just trying to control a two-year-old child who was scared and wanted to be held by her mother," she told reporters.
By the time they finally got Natalie settled, security and a Jet Blue representative had already boarded the plane and approached the family. "She [the representative] said, 'The pilot's made a decision to turn the plane around,'" Colette explained.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The family was then forced to leave the plane and find a place to stay overnight.
The trip ended up taking the family an extra 24 hours as the family was unable to find another flight until the next day. Colette has also told reporters it cost them an extra $2,000.
"I don't like the way it was handled," she said.
"We weren't yelling and swearing. My child wasn't running up and down the aisles. We were trying; we were putting in an effort. We didn't just say, 'so what?' We were doing our best, and she decided that was the way it was going to go," Colette told reporters.
Jet Blue has offered a statement about the ordeal, saying that the family "did not comply with crewmember instructions for a prolonged time period. The Captain elected to remove the customers involved for the safety of all customers and crewmembers on board."
However, that does not sit will with Colette, who has said, "It's just airplane travel today. There's no humanity in it; there's no decency. I really think that this could have gone a different way."
