You can't be kicked off a plane because of a crying baby.
Image: FILE
TRAVELING has always come with complications.
THIS week, our social media feeds were full of videos claiming a couple was kicked off an Allegiant Air flight for having a crying baby. Naturally, there was more to the story than the initial clips speculated, but the incident made us wonder: Could having a crying baby ever get you kicked off a flight?
The short answer is: not really - which is good news for parents who already have enough stress to deal with when traveling with an infant. In fact, many parents told me crying babies are more likely to get them help and empathy on a flight than punishment.
But let’s start with the viral moment.
On March 27, a woman posted a video of a plump baby in the arms of a man at an airport baggage claim. As the man bounces the chubby-cheeked child, a voiceover says: “This is our baby that got us taken off of our flight ... because they said she was feverish because her face was red from crying and she’s pale - like her dad. Thanks Allegiant!”
In a video from another passenger, we see the couple talking to what appears to be a flight crew member before deplaning, and the employee telling someone, “I can’t override MedLink,” referring to a medical advisory service that flight crews can call for guidance during onboard medical emergencies.
Allegiant has apologized to the couple for disrupting their travel plans, but the airline told The Washington Post that the flight crew had followed standard airline protocols.
Staff are trained to look for “observable symptoms [that] indicate a more serious condition or a risk during flight,” Allegiant spokesperson Sonya Padgett said in an email. Do they appear medically stable enough to safely complete the flight?
John Rose, chief risk officer for the travel agency Altour, told me Allegiant is not alone. Airlines are constantly monitoring whether passengers are “fit to fly.”
“And they have the right to tell anyone, ‘You’re not fit to fly,’” he said.
For adult passengers, red flags for the flight crew “may include stomach ailments, difficulty breathing, possible fever or visible signs of infection, confusion or other symptoms,” Padgett said. “For infants, the assessment is even more cautious, as they cannot communicate how they feel.”
Flight crew members monitor babies for symptoms like vomiting, lethargy, rapid or labored breathing, changes in skin color, signs of overheating, as well as inconsolable crying.
In this latest incident, Allegiant said the baby had multiple symptoms that raised concerns, so they called for a second opinion from medical experts on the ground, and “based on the information available at the time, MedLink advised that the child should not continue travel,” Padgett said.
The airline says the decision to remove the family was made with the safety of the baby, other passengers and crew members in mind.
The moral of the story: a crying baby alone won’t get you kicked off your flight, but additional symptoms could trigger a medical evaluation.
“I just don’t see that travelers would need to worry about this,” Rose said.