Jebby_ca

Westjet flight cancelled over maskless infant:

https://onemileatatime.com/westjet-f...mask-incident/

YYCCL3

I'm very curious to hear the whole story on this one.

Also, this event responds to one of Badenoch's concerns and should make him very happy.

Sunny Day

This is so ridiculous. They complied and still got kicked off. That flight crew got to give their head a shake. Another reason why people don't want to step foot on a plane.

FlyerAl

I was hoping that with risks of the virus and the hassles of the safety protocols in place, it would mean that few families would be willing to fly with small children. Unfortunately, families are still dragging their annoying children on planes

hoipolloi

children want and deserve to see their grandma/grandpa

Fiordland

What is weird about all of this, in the news article it sounds like the problem is the infant (who under transport Canada regulations is exempt). The new reports suggest the disturbance, vomit etc. were caused by forcing the mast on the infant. WestJet PR people look to be saying it was the older child that is the problem.

The transport Canada requirement require the mask check at security. This is also a return trip to get them back home. So they went through the same process to get out to Calgary without issue. There is a failure of process somewhere.

Also odd about this situation is in this day and age of video and smart phones I am surprised we don't have the entire encounter on video, just the police talking to the family on the tail end. I would have expected multiple videos from different people would have already been loaded up on youtube. All we have are some of the new reports:


After the United events last year, I am surprised an airline would engage the police in something like this.

CanadianConnection33

The CBC has a video regarding the removal:
My subjective opinion is the 19-month old looks like an older looking toddler but certainly WestJet would have access to age confirmation.

I have a hard time with WestJet's version of events because I don't understand what circumstance would reasonably result in this flight being canceled. Best case for WestJet, the family is in the wrong but the crew's negligent management resulted in the flight being canceled [if they timed out its still negligence by the airline for a really minor event]. If WestJet genuinely allowed a child under 2 to become so upset she vommitted then, again, WestJet has some explaining to do.

aerobod

As was stated in some of the news articles and can be seen on video in some cases, other passengers started getting agitated with the family while some were defending them, you can hear passengers swearing at each other. WestJet stated that the tension between passengers in the cabin was not appropriate for the flight to continue, it wasn’t cancelled due to the family itself.

CanadianConnection33

I wasn't clear enough but this was my point: WestJet was in the best position to control this situation and failed to maintain calm in the cabin. WestJet has some explaining to do and the "no further comment" routine is unreasonable.

aerobod

The statement from a policeman on the aircraft dealing with the incident I just saw broadcast on CTV was “Unfortunately the behaviour of the rest of the passengers had left the crew feeling unsafe to fly”. WestJet has nothing further to explain. The captain was responsible for the decision, determined the situation was unsafe and decided to cancel the flight. I wouldn’t want to fly on an aircraft where the crew considered it unsafe to do so, the captain absolutely made the right decision.

CanadianConnection33

Yes the Captain made the right decision in the circumstances. The Captain was not involved in the initial encounter.

Who had the best ability to manage the situation before it got there? Answer: The cabin crew.

This isn't some planned rebellion by passengers. The crew feels unsafe to fly because the passengers are objecting to the management of the cabin by the crew. Better handling would have avoided this situation.

Either the cabin crew was correct or they weren't. The evidence presented in the news is they were not. The complaining passengers have at least established a basic case (with the presumption they were correct). Doubling down on a mistake just exacerbates problem. Either an apology is due or an explanation with evidence is due by WestJet. Compensation is due to all other passengers by either WestJet or this family. "They had another kid" and "Nothing to see here" does not support theory of an airline dedicated to reliable and consistent management during a pandemic. WestJet is in the position of power here. The onus is on WestJet.

aerobod

The family was travelling on Buddy Passes and supposedly were asked to step off the aircraft to resolve the situation by the cabin crew, but refused to do so. Buddy Passes have specific rules and no guarantee of travel (standby only at the company’s discretion), the family had to comply with the request to leave based on the Buddy Pass rules. At this point the employee who provided the family with the passes has had their employee travel privileges removed (likely due to not properly explaining the restrictions pass travel impose) and the family has been banned from travel on passes, too. The confirmation they were travelling on passes is at the bottom of this link: https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/westjet-s...licy-1.5096690

Every Buddy Pass traveller is expected to behave in the same way an employee would when travelling and respect the company’s needs and requests, they are not normal guests. The behaviour of this family will probably lead to a review of the Buddy Pass system and could lead to it’s dissolution or changes similar to the Air Canada rules that only allow Buddy Passes to be used when an employee accompanies the traveller(s).

Error 601

The WestJet website says "Guests can eat or drink while on board as long as they replace their mask once finished" and it was reported the three year-old was eating a snack and put their mask on when asked. The baby didn't need a mask at all... so what's the problem?

I am just bewildered by the inability of cabin crews world-wide to deescalate situations like this.

In a lifetime of travelling I have seen very few interactions like this between a sober passenger and a flight attendant where the passenger was guilty of anything more than confusion.

robsaw

Well, this ain't normal times, is it?

It seems the more information that is reported the more chaotic the scene onboard appears with frustrated and angry passengers and flight attendants.

The actual requests, the actual young passenger in question, the sequence of events, all are impossible to verify at the moment given disparate reports.

cirrusdragoon

“Just before noon Tuesday WestJet spokesperson Lauren Stewart said in an email the decision was made to revoke the family's travel privileges and those of the employee whose passes they were travelling with”


It would appear the passenger in question was travelling on an Employee travel voucher of some sort. I have some acquaintances who have travelled on Virgin Atlantic family travel. In this category of travel is is compulsory to travel with the utmost discretion. Obedience to airline personnel must be adhered. I would assume that WS has something similar. I am gathering these “supposed victims” are not complete saints in the matter.

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...-mask-incident