This Plane Turbulence Story Is The Last Thing New Moms Should Read Before Flying

Almost every parent I know has flown with their baby on their lap before. My husband and I have been fortunate enough to avoid the stress and rigmarole of flying with kids. My mom is a short drive away and always watches our infant and toddler when we go on vacation.

Nonetheless, I flew with my parents as a small child, and I am well aware that it is customary to hold young children in laps instead of paying $400 for an extra seat. It just makes sense. If I had any reason to travel with my kids out of state, that’s exactly what we would do. Most airlines allow a child under two to be carried on the plane free of charge, if they don’t occupy a seat.

This seems simple enough””except for trying to keep a screaming baby happy throughout the length of a flight so that all of the other passengers don’t hate you. But of course, there’s always an unpleasant story to put a wrench in your well-made plans.

On a recent flight, United Flight 1676 from Denver, Colorado, to Billings, Montana, experienced “extreme turbulence.” We’ve all experienced turbulence before, but this is where the story takes a turn for the worse.

Amidst all of the expected turbulence chaos, a woman called out for her baby””indicating that the child may have been thrown from her lap. Another female passenger “hit the ceiling of the plane so hard that it cracked.”

This is just unbelievable. First and foremost, I am so happy this child is okay since another passenger HIT THE CEILING of the plane, causing it to crack. Secondly, I am deeply upset that something as simple as traveling with a child on a lap is now tainted in a perfect example of what can go wrong during air travel.

I get that parents want to save a buck by traveling with an infant or toddler on their lap. I would do the same thing in a heartbeat, especially since it is accepted as airline policy. So far, we haven’t had any reason to fly with our kids under the age of two. Thanks to this story, I’m going to avoid cross-country family trips until both of my kids are old enough for their own plane ticket.

(Image: Nadezhda1906/Shutterstock)