A mom of three sparked fierce debate on social media after posting a video calling out the behavior of a passenger sitting in front of her and her baby on a nine-hour flight.
Bianca, from Sydney, Australia, shared a clip on her TikTok @TravelWithKids3, showing what unfolded during a long-haul flight where the youngest of her three children was strapped to her.
“The footage was from an earlier flight when our youngest was just a few months old,” Bianca told Newsweek. Under current aviation rules, infants and children under 2 years of age can travel for free during certain flights on the lap of an adult.
This is not without its problems, as Bianca discovered on this flight. In the clip, she revealed how the person in front of her chose to recline his seat for the duration of the flight, leaving her and her baby in an even more cramped position.
“Flying with a baby on your lap is already hard enough … then someone slams their seat back into your space,” Bianca wrote in the caption accompanying the video.
Bianca felt compelled to share footage of her experience after seeing other parents express similar frustrations on social media. “I truly think that the little comfort it provides is minimal, compared to the discomfort it causes to the person behind,” she said.
It is not an isolated incident either. “We’ve flown quite a few times, both domestically and internationally. So it hasn’t been unique to just one flight,” Bianca said.
The TikTok video drew some strong reactions, but not all of them were supportive of Bianca’s stance. “We paid the same amount for our tickets and I should be uncomfortable to provide you more comfort?” one user wrote. Another said: “We paid the same amount for our tickets and I should be uncomfortable to provide you more comfort?”
The response is a reminder of how contentious an issue kids on planes continues to be. One Newsweek survey even found the majority of U.S. adults were in favor of planes having child-free areas.
Despite these negative responses, there were others who did side with Bianca. “Reclining needs to be removed. It causes too much trouble,” one user wrote.
Bianca said she believes there are plenty of situations where it is understandable for a passenger to recline. She cited long-haul flights or overnight flights as prime examples of this. But there are other situations where she feels fellow passengers could be more considerate.
“The hardest times, though, are when the person in front reclines the second we’re up in the air until the point of getting ready to land. It can be really tricky to eat, play or stand up to go to the bathroom while holding an infant,” Bianca said.
“It’s also impossible to reach down to grab anything from the floor when the space is limited and you’re also juggling a baby.”
Bianca said she isn’t looking for or expecting reclining seats to be removed from planes; all she wants is a little acknowledgment from fellow passengers.
“I really appreciate it when someone turns around and acknowledges that you have a little one and asks if it’s OK,” she said. “I actually am fine with that, because they’ve shown some consideration and will generally sit their seat up right during eating times.”
Sadly, if some of the comments on her video are anything to go by, then a simple gesture of this kind appears beyond many traveling by plane.
