‘Cramped’ China mother and child demand free upgrade to first class, disrupt flight

The mother, who ignored flight attendants’ requests for her son to return to his seat, allowed him to enter the first-class cabin.

“There are empty seats. Why don’t you just let us sit here?” the woman said in a video that went viral on mainland social media.

Several flight attendants tried to persuade the pair to go back to their seats, but they were ignored.

Other passengers became angry and voices could clearly be heard in the video saying, “get off the plane” and “do not waste time talking to her, just get her off”.

The plane finally took off an hour later.

It is not clear whether the woman received a punishment for her conduct. The name of the airline was also not disclosed in the report.

The mother’s behaviour attracted a wave of criticism on mainland social media.

“Prisons have many vacancies. She can have a seat there,” one online observer said.

“It’s not the child’s fault. The parent’s education is the issue. She should be held fully responsible for the inconvenience she caused to other passengers,” said another.

The airline’s approach to the disruption was also commented on by netizens.

“The flight attendants did not do a good job in dealing with the disturbance. Also, the company has not issued a statement explaining to passengers why the flight was delayed, or offering them compensation,” one observer said.

Incidents involving plane seats frequently make headlines in China.

Last year, an elderly woman reportedly swore at a young woman on a Jiangxi Airlines domestic flight after the latter refused to swap her window seat.

The elderly woman demanded to sit by the window because she had hypertension and heart disease. A flight attendant resolved the situation by seating her elsewhere.