Pregnant singer kicked off flight due to crying toddler

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Seven months pregnant and traveling alone with her toddler, Sarah Blackwood's flight from San Fransisco to Vancouver would probably have been a challenge at the best of times. However, the 5-hour travel day turned into a 12-hour nightmare when she was publicly embarrassed and eventually kicked off the plane all together. Why? Her 23-month-old's crying was apparently deemed a "safety risk" by United Airlines staff.

Sarah, a singer with the Canadian band Walk Off the Earth, was en route to Vancouver, where they are set to play on Friday. She freely admits that her son Giorgio was upset as the plane prepared for take-off. In fact, she says, he was crying "very loudly." Still, she was surprised when a flight attendant told her that if she couldn't "control" her child the plane would be turned around.

"I looked at her and said 'I'm doing what I can here, I'm holding him. This is what I'm supposed to do,'" Sarah tells CTV. After she was approached a second time, "My eyes were welling up, I was so embarrassed."

Not long after that the plane was diverted from the runway - to refuel, the captain announced. When the plane arrived back at the airport another attendant arrived to tell Sarah that she and Giorgio - who was by that time asleep on her lap - had to leave, citing "safety concerns."

The 34-year-old, who is expecting her second child with her partner and band-mate Gianni Luminati, says she was in tears as she was escorted off the plane with her son.

United Airlines seems to have messed with the wrong mom, though.

Sarah later took to Twitter to share her story with her almost 30,000 followers, and it's quickly gone viral since.

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

As the story gained momentum, United Airlines issued a statement explaining the "difficult decision" to remove Sarah and her son, saying, "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."

Sarah disputes this, though she admits her son was "very squirmy" and upset, and says that she's since received many emails from passengers on the same flight who are willing to back up her version of events.

She also later posted an audio recording of a United employee back at the airport explaining that the safety issue had been with the seat belt - that she neglected to secure the belt around her child as well as herself.

As the story of her ill-fated journey explodes online, Sarah says she's just hoping to be compensated for the trip - and for an apology.

"There is no reason why any mother should be apologetic to the people around her because her baby is having a hard time on a flight," she says. "They're not adults. They are not always consolable the way that people think that they are."

The Child United felt was too Dangerous to Fly Giorgio Michael

My heart goes out to this mama. I shied away from flying with my kids when they were young because I worried that they'd start screaming and I wouldn't be able to calm them down. I worried about other passengers' reactions, about my wailing baby ruining the flight for everyone.

Every mom I know cringes at the thought of their kid kicking up a fuss on a flight. We all arrive armed with an arsenal of toys, snacks and whatever else we can stuff into a carry-on to help cut the odds of that happening. If a baby is crying on a plane, I can pretty much guarantee that mom and dad are doing everything they possibly can to make it stop.

To roll your eyes or quietly complain about it is one thing, but humiliation and punishment seems to cross the line.

Comment

What do you think of this story? Have you ever had issues flying with kids?

Photo: Flickr/tjchampagne