Snack Gate

Recently, a single-mom traveling home with her two-year-old son was “allegedly” escorted off of their flight because the toddler wasn’t wearing a mask while eating, even though the plane had already left the gate.

Yes, folks, you read that right, the child was eating a snack so flight attendants had the plane turn around and the mother and son duo were booted off the flight!

Even more insane is that according to reports, the child was eating a snack served on the flight! If the airline doesn’t want children to take off their masks to eat a snack, why are they serving snacks?

I don’t know about you, but even as an adult I have a hard time eating through my mask, so I’m not sure how a child is supposed to accomplish this feat.

Although the airline tried to re-book the mom and son on another flight home, they ended up switching airlines altogether and, quite frankly, I don’t blame them.

I don’t pretend to know this child, or his schedule, but in my limited experience, parents often feed children on flights to keep them from being a nuisance. My aunt reportedly gave my cousins Skittles during take-off and landing to help their ears pop. Maybe they need a snack before naptime, which will help everyone have a more pleasant flight (and help keep the kid’s mask on). Or, maybe the boy was just plain hungry.

Regardless, the parent determined what was best for their child, and the airline refused accommodate a child. Perhaps, they should consider banning children altogether until the pandemic is “over” (whatever that means). Then they wouldn’t have to use common-sense.

This is the second story I’ve heard in the last few months about parents and children getting kicked off a flight due to toddler masking issues. In August, a mother of six was kicked off of a flight because her toddler kept pulling the mask off.

On this flight, other passengers stood up for the mom and pointed out that it wasn’t fair to the mother or her children. (After all, since when do two-year-olds comply with any direction ever?) As a result, one of the passengers speaking up was also kicked off with her son.

I suspect that if airlines were a democracy, an overwhelming majority on both flights would have voted to let the moms and tots fly home, even if the two year old never donned his mask at all.

Whether or not you believe in the efficacy of masks, or the way in which the mask mandates were dictated, I think we can all agree that two-year olds should be extended an abundance of grace for not complying with CDC guidelines or airline policies. The moms and dads out there are doing their level best to chorale their children, why can’t we support them by letting them give their kid a snack?