Family Kicked Off Flight After Daughter With Autism Deemed 'Disruptive'

[yardwork]

118. It looks to me like that was the trigger.

It sounds like tempers were fraying on both sides. The mother writes that she argued with the flight attendant from first class for 40 minutes. That was after the economy flight attendants called the first class flight attendant because of the mother's demand for something that is not served in economy class.

Then the mother tells the flight attendant that her daughter might "melt down and scratch" people. That's when the first class attendant gave the girl something from first class to eat, and also seems to have notified the pilot. At that point, liability becomes a real issue for the airline. You can't get away with making threats to injure other people on an airplane.

I sympathize with this family, but I think that they were not well-prepared for their daughter's travel needs. People who have paid for economy tickets can't expect first-class service just because they ask.

Traveling is miserable nowadays, especially in economy class. I would urge this mother to prepare better next time, and maybe tone down the threats. Standing up and shouting at the crew wasn't very wise either.