Crying baby booted off flight from Israel
Parents weren't following safety instructions and were jeopardizing flight, says Dutch airline Transavia
A family was thrown off a UK-bound flight from Israel because their baby wouldn’t stop crying, the parents told British media.
Ariella and Mark Aziz, a Jewish family from North London, said they were still reeling from the incident, which saw their Dutch charter flight from Ben Gurion Airport to Luton stop on the runway because their 19-month-old daughter Serena had become agitated and couldn’t be calmed.
Police officers stormed the Dutch Transavia plane as though it was “a terrorist incident,” Ariella Aziz told the UK’s Jewish News website on Thursday.
Mark told The Mail on Friday that they were seeking legal advice over the incident, which happened earlier this month. “All we were doing was asking the cabin crew what we can do, and asking for help,” he said.
The family had purchased a seat for their daughter, but were told she had to sit on one of her parent’s laps for take-off. “Everyone could see we were trying to calm Sarina down, but we couldn’t do anything,” Ariella said. “She was screaming, flailing around, hitting her head and injuring herself. She got herself so worked up she was sick. The stewards were so aggressive, they weren’t helping at all.”
The flight attendants alerted the pilot to what was deemed a security incident, and he in turn contacted the airport authorities.
Police officers stormed the plane and removed the family, the family told the Jewish News. “It was like a terrorist incident, I couldn’t believe it,” said Ariella. “The next thing you know we’re all in squad cars heading back to [the] Ben-Gurion [terminal].”
A fellow passenger said the pilot “even slammed his brakes on, throwing people through the aisles. We all wanted to get off the plane with the family.”
The airline said it would not compensate for the family, which it said failed to follow safety instructions. “The ill child was misbehaving and the family did not follow safety belt instructions, which is a priority for all passengers,” a spokeswoman told the Jewish News. “We cannot take passengers on a flight if they do not follow the rules. We will not jeopardize the flight. It was unfortunate that the child was ill, but a sick child is not an excuse for refusing to following safety instructions.”