Mother and autistic child kicked off plane

[SuzySunshine]

Those situations are always tough because they're he said, she said. Unless an unbiased passenger comes forward and gives another side you'll never know the true story.

[diggitydot]

Re: Mother and autistic child kicked off plane

Oh, yikes.

And WTF is with the pilot announcing "that there was a woman and her child on the plane and the child is uncontrollable" to the whole plane. I understand that he has to make an announcement to the other passengers to let them know what's going on, but how about not being a total dick about it. Something along the lines of "We're returning to the gates to deplane a passenger having an issue" or something else fairly generic. I'm sure everyone else would have gotten the gist of the situation sans the specifics.

The other thing I wonder is if the mom explained that her son wasn't just simply being a brat, but instead was autistic and had some special needs that could be addressed without the whole non-compliant FAA shit happening.

What a mess.

[GrayMatterWife]

Re: Mother and autistic child kicked off plane

I sympathize with the airlines and all the FAA regulations they are under--not to mention the generally basement-level morale of the employees, given the current state of affairs in the industry. And combine this with genuine safety concerns (for both the child and the other passengers)... They could be sanctioned by the FAA for flying under these conditions.

But, this sounds like it could have been dealt with much better. Quietly turn around to the gate, have the mom and child deplane, then continue on. Reassure the mom and son that they would receive priority placement on the next available flight and that the airlines is sorry for the inconvenience, but this needs to be done because the law will not permit them to take off under these circumstances. The airline isn't obligated to announce the situation to the entire cabin--that just seems unnecessary. Everybody on the plane, I can guarantee you, would have figured out why the plane was turning around. I've been on flights like this--where a child or an adult (usually drunk before s/he even boards) causes this kind of situation. I've seen drunk-ass adults handcuffed and hauled off the plane (to the cheers and taunts of the other passengers, mind you). But there is no reason to cause humiliation to a kid in circumstances like this.