Some people have the audacity if nothing else, and one mother on board a flight earlier this month knows all about that from experience.
As we’ve said many times before, flying on a plane can be stressful for many. That said, it doesn’t hurt to extend a bit of kindness and consideration to fellow passengers.
Unfortunately, one couple, particularly the man, didn’t get that memo. On a flight bound for the United Kingdom from Spain, the man showed a stressed-out mother and her young son absolutely no grace. Actually, as you’ll read below, that’s an understatement.
The mother, who goes by the username, Willowtree88, detailed the horrible experience on the Mumsnet website.
What Happened?
On December 15, the woman wrote, “my partner and I have just come back from a last minute holiday with our 18 month- old son.”
The family’s trip to Spain was well deserved after what she described as “a stressful few months.” Little did she know that the flight home was going to bring on yet more stress.
According to Newsweek, “the mom went on to describe an unpleasant-sounding couple who constantly berated the family during the flight, complaining about the behavior of their toddler, whom the mother described as ‘a delightful passenger.'”
It Only Got Worse
The annoyed couple didn’t mince their words at all, namely the man.
He asked the mother to keep her child from “kicking my seat and shut them up whilst you’re at it.”
But the mother claimed that her son was pretty well behaved.
She wrote, “as far as I was concerned, my son was being a delightful passenger. He played peek a boo with me, he colored, he ate his lunch and he read his books.”
“At one point he took an interest in the cup holder on the seat in front and pulled this down. After he did this twice, my partner tried to distract him with a game. But not before I saw the man in the seat in front literally wincing and telling his wife ‘see, I’m going to say something.’”
“In fact, every time my son spoke, the man would physically wince. His wife would then tell him to ‘leave it, just leave it.’ Well he didn’t leave it.”
The man only got more incensed, according to the woman’s account.
“I’m only going to say this once,” he allegedly said. “Keep your fu*king child from kicking my seat and shut them up whilst you’re at it!”
The woman explained she’d been the one who accidentally knocked the man’s seat. She also told him she was unaware he was making any noise, but would try her best to address that.
The Woman's Explanation Wasn't Enough
The man accused the woman of being an “irresponsible parent” who shouldn’t have had her son on a plane.
That’s when the woman’s partner stepped in.
She explained on Mumsnet, “my partner was really annoyed at this point, and defended me by saying that my son hadn’t been kicking his chair. He didn’t feel it was appropriate to talk to me like that.”
“The man got completely irate at this and threatened to ‘fu*k up’ my partner when he got to the airport. He even raised his elbow as if going to hit him, until another passenger stepped in to tell him to calm down.”
Newsweek reported, “the angry pair eventually moved seats.”
The Woman Complained Of "Lost Confidence" When Flying
The nasty exchange put undue stress on the woman, who is currently pregnant, dealing with sciatica and has work trouble.
“It’s really knocked my confidence about taking my son on experiences like this, particularly on my own,” she wrote.
“Some of my childless friends have questioned whether or not I’m just immune to my child’s irritating noises. But he was honestly reading books, watching a program, or sleeping for the entire flight.”
“I can understand if I was being irresponsible and thoughtless towards others. But I don’t feel that I was, and doesn’t my child have a right to talk and interact with his family just as much as anyone else on the flight?”
Most Sided And Empathized With The Woman
Thedogscollar wrote, “they sound vile. You and your child did nothing wrong. Some people are just downright awful and unfortunately you found them on your flight.”
TheUsualChaos wrote, “an angry man who hates women and children. Sounds like his poor wife has to put up with that sh*t all the time. He expects to be in public spaces but all other humans using said spaces must be seen and not heard. Don’t waste anymore head space over it.”
A third added, “you sound like you’re blaming yourself somehow. Don’t. They sound like a couple of entitled pr*cks just looking for something to piss them off. I’m sorry this happened to you. You’re entitled to be on a plane as is your child. What absolute bellends.”