I fly a lot for work and recently flew a relatively short 2 hour flight on a smaller regional jet with 50 seats. The plane was full to capacity. I knew it was going to be a bad flight by the sounds of toddlers having tantrums in the gate area and exhausted parents who could not control their kids and babies.
I boarded and was seated in the last few rows. A single father boarded with what looked like his 2 year old and 3 year old sons. They sat 2 rows in front of me; to my immediate left was a single mother with a what looked like a 3 year old. The 3 year old had a temper tantrum when he was forced to buckle up, and screamed for 45 minutes non stop. The FA had to intervene a few times and ask what was going on as the kid was hysterical. To add to this, there must have been 3 babies crying on and off the entire flight.
About an hour into the flight, 2 rows up a 2 year old boy starts whining and wants to run in the aisle. The kid runs and cries and whines for 15 minutes annoying everyone. Then the single father gets out of his seat and grabs a diaper and wipes from the overhead bin. I think, OK, he’s going to take his 2 year old to the back lav and change him. No, he stands his son on his lap, pulls down his pants, and unfastens the tapes of a loaded diaper. Everyone was hit with this disgusting aroma. Dad is just wiping away the mess for a good 10 minutes and then just rolls up the diaper and wipes and tosses them under the seat. The used diaper was under the seat when we got off the plane.
I don’t understand why some parents can be so unmannerly. It was foul! People were complaining about the smell, but the FA did nothing. Airlines have changing tables for a reason… use them please! To make matters worse, I get off the plane and have to use the washroom. Not even a foot away from the urinals another father is busy changing junior’s soiled diaper. Why not place diaper changing tables near the sink or in a stall? I did my business and got out of there fast!
The joys of travel!
Pascal
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Are you certain the FA saw the father throw the nasty diaper under the seat? If not, I would have mentioned it to her in the hopes of her asking the father to dispose of it properly.
That being said, the father is a disgusting pig who fully deserves to have the diaper rubbed in his face.
Another candidate for the FF&S section.
(Fatties, Stinkers and Screamers)
I actually have some sympathy for the dad in this case, since he had a 2 year old and a 3 year old with him. There's not enough room for both children in the lav, and a single parent doesn't want to leave a 3 yr old unattended. Still he should've asked the FA to watch the other kid, but it's tough in that situation.
Nothing is good enough for you, a father changing his 2 year old at his seat while still watching his 3 year old isn't good enough, a father changing his child in the washroom using the change table isn't good enough for you. If you hate other people so much, do us all a favour and stay home.