AIBU to think cancelling the flight over a child was excessive

[MrsShawnHatosy]

An airline cancelled a flight because a child refused to sit down and put their seatbelt on. AIBU to think they should have asked the parents to get off, rather than cancelling the flight and stranding the rest of the passengers?

https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/news/flight-cancelled-passengers-stranded-due-37532204

And the airline left people in the airport overnight. It seems like rights as a passager today are very random.

Where has the 6 hour delay figure come from?

Press reports state the flight was the Porter (PD) 444, last Thursday night

According to timetables (available on line) that flight is normally scheduled to depart Victoria (i.e.pushback or first taxi) at 2230 local time.

According to sources such as Flightaware the PD444 that evening pushed back at 2303 local...so a 33 minute delay...

It never got airborne and (looking at other sources) returned to the terminal about 45 min later..and was then cancelled (Flightaware again)

So either Porter have been extraordinary unlucky with a couple of flights recently or the 6 hour figure is incorrect.

If you are quick the flight (or what there was of it) is still available for replay of flightradar, and the times will be on Flightaware for a while so you can check it for yourself.

Canadian rules so I don't know what the passenger rights were...in the real world especially at smaller airports (and sometimes bigger ones) the reality is that it's going to be tough for any airline to find accommodation for everyone, or even anyone at the drop of the hat, despite even basic duty of care requirements.

I'll accept service recovery doesn't sound at all great for the passengers but it mustn't be forgotten that from what we have heard the airline were not the reason for the cancellation.

Lots of delays aren't the fault of the airline, weather, air traffic controller strikes to name two.

There are very few rights for passengers in Canada.

My apologies I missed read the news paper article attached in the first post. It was another TUI flight where a similar incident happened which had a 6 hour delay.

But nobody really knows how a child will react to getting on a flight. The noise could be quite disturbing to children who aren't normally bothered by noise.

I do think the airline made the right decision but I also think better seatbelts / harnesses should be available for small children. Even if it is like a safety harness with the seatbelt threaded thought the back of it.