Former Rare Staff
A screaming child on a Lufthansa flight caused quite the stir.
Videos by Rare
According to NBC 4, the trouble began as soon as the eight-hour transatlantic flight from Germany to New Jersey began. A young child screamed for nearly the entire duration of the flight.
Passengers reported hearing the mother tell the flight attendants that her son had “behavioral problems.” She was also heard trying comfort him with WiFi and an iPad.
A passenger by the name of Shane Townley took a video of the incident, highlighting the distress of several around them.
At one point, the child even stood up in his seat and made a fuss. At other points, he was running up and down the aisles.
“She kind of looked like she was used to it,” he said. “He was climbing the chairs. He would not let up. He was running up and down the aisles and there was nothing she could do.”
“Everyone was kind of looking at each other like, ‘This is going to be a long flight,'” he recalled.
“Our crew worked around-the-clock to de-escalate the situation, tend to all passengers and assist the mother,” said a Lufthansa spokesperson via the DailyMail.
The DailyMail reported that viewers debated over the behavior in the video.
“If this started before the plane took off, the plane should have taxied back to the terminal and kicked the kid and his parents off. This kind of behaviour is just unacceptable,” one argued.
“Whos[sic] to say this child didn’t have a hidden disability[.] [M]y son is autistic and couldn’t do a long haul flight, 1 you shouldn’t be filming a child 2 shouldn’t be passing judgement when you haven’t a clue what was wrong. Shame on you!!!!” insisted another.
One viewer theorized that even “noise cancellation headphones would not have drowned out this terror.”
NBC 4 interviewed parenting expert Lyss Stern, who said it helps to have activities, snacks, and other distractions for moments like the one witnessed on camera.
“You need to come on this plane prepared,” Stern said. “Passengers are going to get upset, but you need as a parent to actively prepare for this.”
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