A mother and her child from Chongqing caused a flight delay of over an hour after they purchased economy tickets but attempted to sit in first class. The incident occurred when the child complained about the cramped space in economy class and began to fuss, refusing to return to their assigned seats.
Flight attendants asked the mother to take her child back to their designated seats. Instead of complying, the mother walked to the first-class cabin and demanded to sit there, shouting, “There are empty seats; why can’t we sit here?” Despite multiple attempts by flight attendants to convince her to return to her original seat, the mother refused and acted aggressively, causing significant disruption on the plane.
Other passengers became increasingly frustrated and began shouting at the mother and child, urging the crew to remove them from the aircraft. “Stop wasting time, just kick them off,” one passenger was heard saying.
The flight eventually took off an hour later, and the incident not only delayed this flight but also impacted other subsequent flights.
After the story went viral in China and globally on August 15, netizens criticized the mother and child’s behavior, with comments such as “Barbaric and frightening,” “The jail is still open; they could sit there,” “There may be empty seats, but you need to pay for them,” and “It’s not the child’s fault; it’s the parent’s responsibility.”
The report did not specify whether the mother and child faced any penalties or if the airline issued a statement regarding the incident.
