Should Babies Be Banned From Planes?
Jackie Reddy August 07, 2015
Kids and air travel don’t always mix, but according to the contentious views of one woman, children should be barred – or at least confined to certain areas of the cabin – when they fly.
According to the controversial views of one British reporter, babies should be banned from planes. Journalist Kelly Rose Bradford aired her opinion on Britain’s This Morning program earlier this week, prompting a debate on kids and air travel.
“Your holiday starts from the moment you sit on the plane,” said Bradford. “You let out that sigh of relief, you’ve left work behind, left all the stresses behind and you take off and all of a sudden you get the kicking at the back of your seat or you get the wailing.”
While Bradford called for child-free flights and advocated for child-free zones on planes, she admitted that she had, in fact, flown with her child when he was a baby. But, she hastened to add, there were occasions when she had left him at home out of consideration for other passengers.
“I took him on short-haul flights when he was a baby, when they sleep and feed throughout them and then I had this little interlude from when he was 18 months until he was about two-and-a-half,” Bradford clarified, explaining that she didn’t wish to subject her fellow passengers to the stress that can accompany traveling with a small child.
When asked, Bradford didn’t hesitate to share her opinion on parents who take their children on long flights. “I think there’s an element of selfishness from parents who insist on not changing their lifestyle once they have their children because there are some things that just aren’t practical.”
Bradford’s call for child-free flights sparked fierce backlash on Twitter.
I can’t bear the screaming on a plane. Toddlers don’t understand or appreciate a holiday the way older children do #thismorning
— Hayley..x (@HayleyMichelleX) August 4, 2015
#thismorning this women is having a Laugh right ?? Baby’s cry it’s part of life wether on a plane car train or even in a restaurant !!
— Shawsy-mufc (@shawsy26) August 4, 2015
@itvthismorning When I become a parent, 4 is probably the youngest I’d let go on a plane, if they aren’t old enough they can stay at home!
— Christopher Lynn (@therealCDRL) August 4, 2015
During the TV segment, Bradford also suggested airlines should have designated areas for children and their parents. This solution has already been put into practice by Malaysia Airlines, which introduced child-free zones on its Airbus A380s three years ago.
“We’ve got business class, we’ve got first class, why can’t we have a family section?” asked Bradford. This family area, she suggested, might provide a fair and practical solution for all passengers, whether or not they are traveling with children.
[Photo: iStock]
Off into a special section of IKEA-like coloured balls, together with their parents who can then 'enjoy' their squeaking little angles for the entire flight. Rather than selfishly pushing that responsibility off to the rest of society, like most parents do these days.
There are 232 million migrants worldwide - meaning these people will at some point 'go home' to visit family and friends. They will clearly take their infant and young children with them so this 'problem' will only increase in years to come. As someone who flys very regularly I can handle a crying - it's not like you or me didn't do it when we were younger. It's part of life - and life is bigger than a few flights. What I find much more irritating is;- - snoring - pax who treat crew like garbage/complain about everything - pax who bring too much carry on - significantly overweight passengers not buying multiple seats Give me babies anyday over these...
People have to travel with infants just like they do pets at times. I don't think they should be banned, but I think if they are flying in first class they should have to have a PURCHASED first/business class ticket. It's unfair for a passenger paying a lot of money for an expensive F/J ticket to get stuck sitting beside a parent with a screaming infant. I also think a good solution is if they are flying in coach is to reserve the last few rows for people with infants. If someone doesn't want to be around an infant they can chose a seat in the front of the plane. People with infants are going to take the longest to get on and off most times with diaper bags, etc and if they are in the back of the plane and preboard they won't hold up boarding and they won't delay deplaning when landing.
For everyone touting the child-free sections on Malaysian airlines - do I have to remind you that Malaysian is a state owned airline, in a state without open elections, where the prime minister is now in the news for allegedly embezzling $700 million and Malaysian was losing large amounts of money even before MH370 or MH17. If you want to work out how best not to run an airline, picking Malaysian would be a good case study.
Selfish dad here. This lady has to be seeking controversy for the sake of controversy. My oldest child flew from SFO to New York when she was six weeks old, and was way less annoying than many adult passengers I frequently see on flights. She mainly just nursed and slept. She's continued to be an excellent traveler, and her little brother is following in her footsteps. The problem usually isn't the baby itself, it's the parents - they don't bring enough stuff to do on long flights, or are unable to help the child with things like popping their ears during take-off and landing. We bring an entire backpack of stuff to keep our kids entertained on flights, including new coloring books/magic marker activities, toys, snacks, books, etc. It seems to work pretty well. I like the idea of a "family section" in concept, but I wouldn't want to be stuck in a section full of the types of parents who are too busy playing candy crush,etc. to attend to the needs of their kids while flying.