- Traveling together with a child on a plane is hard as it is and parents are always nervous about the trip
- This woman was told her child would be safer in her arms than in a car seat.
- Now a Fort McMurray mom is speaking out about the way she was treated by an Air Canada flight attendant while she was flying with her young daughter.
Air Canada is finally apologizing to A Mother, after an incident on Wednesday morning involving a mother and daughter aboard one of their planes.
Kaitlynn Kirschner was flying on an Air Canada plane with her mother, sister and daughter, who turns two next month. Kaitlynn purchased a car seat for her daughter in advance of the trip as she thought that was the best and safest way for her daughter on the flight.
While she was on a connecting flight to Houston from Toronto when a flight attendant approached her.“The flight attendant informed me that because my daughter was an ‘infant’ she was not allowed to use her car seat during takeoff and landing due to ‘safety issues,’” Kirschner wrote in a shocking post Facebook post on Thursday.“He continued to argue with me about
“He continued to argue with me about potential of neck injuries and how she was safer in my arms during turbulence than strapped in her car seat.”
The Mom reluctantly complied with the flight attendant and held her daughter during takeoff.
“He again forced the issue for landing and said we would continue to fly circles until I complied because the cabin was not ‘secured’ until my daughter was unsecured from her seat,” Kirschner told Global News Friday from Florida.
“You’ve strapped the coffee pot down, you’ve strapped everything down except for my child and that makes the cabin secure?”
A spokesperson for Air Canada later confirmed to Global News Friday in a statement that they were aware of the incident between the Mom and their staff member.
“This is a regrettable situation and we are reaching out to the customer to apologize for her experience and provide a goodwill gesture. Unfortunately, we did not recognize that the passenger’s child restraint was appropriate for travel on this flight,” the statement read in part.The statement said the airline will ensure “all staff
The statement also noted that the airline will ensure that “all staff are reminded of current procedures for traveling with infants and small children, and acceptable child restraints per Transport Canada guidelines.”
Transport Canada outlines guidelines on its website.
It says that while children who have not yet turned two may be held in their parent’s arms during a flight, it is highly recommended that an approved child restraint system – or a car seat – be used during all stages of the flight.
“The use of a car seat provides the greatest degree of protection for the infant or child and its use during the flight will help in case of unanticipated turbulence,” Transport Canada said.
What an awful experience for this family. Let’s hope Air Canada gets their employees trained on up to date safety laws and guidelines.