Mother And Son In China Demand Free Upgrade To First Class, Delay Flight

A woman in China faced widespread criticism for failing to control her unruly child on a domestic flight from Chongqing, causing a one-hour delay. According to the South China Morning Post, the incident occurred on August 15 when the boy, whose age was not disclosed, became upset about the limited legroom in their economy-class seats. He cried, complained, and stood in the aisle, before barging into the first-class cabin, disrupting fellow passengers and prompting a delay in the flight's departure.

Despite flight attendants' repeated requests, the mother refused to restrain her son and allowed him to enter the first-class cabin. Multiple attendants attempted to reason with the duo, but their efforts went in vain.

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

As tensions escalated, fellow passengers grew angry, with some loudly demanding, "Remove them from the plane!" and "Stop negotiating, just eject them!" The standoff ultimately delayed the flight's departure by an hour before it finally took off.

The mother's actions sparked a torrent of outrage on Chinese social media, drawing widespread condemnation and criticism from internet users. One user wrote, ''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.''

People also criticised the airline's handling of the incident, questioning their response to the disruption and whether more could have been done to resolve the situation promptly. 

''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,'' another user commented. 

The country has witnessed several similar incidents involving plane seats, including a notable case last year on a Jiangxi Airlines domestic flight. An elderly woman allegedly hurled expletives at a young passenger who declined to exchange seats, citing her health conditions as the reason for wanting the window seat. A flight attendant intervened, relocating the elderly woman to a different seat and defusing the tense situation.