Main content

Flying with kids: Cabin chaos

How do you deal with a disruptive child on a flight?

Noisy and disruptive children can turn a normal flight into a living nightmare.

Earlier this month, a flight in Canada was cancelled after a young child refused to wear a seatbelt. The incident has opened a debate about how airlines should deal with these situations and how parents should control their children. In our conversations we bring together three parents to share their experiences.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel bad any more after hundreds of flights with my kids behaving like kids,鈥� Charlotte in Vietnam tells us. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just control your child 鈥� it鈥檚 not a little puppet or a robot that you sit and ask to do what you want all the time, sometimes they feel off鈥e all have off days.鈥�

We also bring together three flight attendants to share their experiences of dealing with disruptive passengers, while keeping everyone on board safe.

Presenters: James Reynolds and Luke Jones
麻豆社 producers: Isabella Bull and Akwasi Sarpong
Boffin Media producer: Richard Hollingham
Editors: Arja Haikonen and Harriet Oliver

A Boffin Media production in partnership with the 麻豆社 World Service Outside Source team.

(Photo: Elena's child)

Available now

23 minutes

Last on

Sun 23 Aug 2026 11:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Fri 21 Aug 2026 19:06GMT
  • Sat 22 Aug 2026 08:06GMT
  • Sat 22 Aug 2026 15:06GMT
  • Sat 22 Aug 2026 18:06GMT
  • Sat 22 Aug 2026 23:06GMT
  • Sun 23 Aug 2026 11:06GMT