Published : 11 Aug 2026, 03:30 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:31 AM
A Porter Airlines flight in Canada has been cancelled after a young child refused to wear a seat belt, sparking debate over child safety and how airlines should handle such situations.
The flight was preparing to travel from Victoria to Toronto on Aug 6 when it returned to the terminal after the child stood in their seat and refused to secure the seat belt, Porter Airlines said, according to the BBC.
“Attempts by the accompanying parent and crew to address this were unsuccessful,” the airline said.
“The aircraft could not take off in this unsafe condition, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the two passengers disembark.”
The delay meant the flight could not leave before the runway closed after midnight, forcing passengers to rebook on a flight the following day.
Child aviation safety expert Lia Tuso told the BBC that the crew's decision protected both the child and other passengers.
“Unrestrained children can become projectiles,” Tuso said, comparing them with unsecured luggage that can fly into passengers during turbulence, particularly during take-off and landing.
The incident has triggered debate online over how strictly parents should enforce airline safety rules and how tolerant airlines should be towards families travelling with young children.
Some critics said the incident reflected overly “gentle” parenting.
Fox News morning programme co-host Charles Hurt said he supported physical discipline while discussing the incident, saying: “We've all been those parents. But this is beyond the pale.”
Others argued that children can sometimes be frightened by flying rather than deliberately disruptive.
Passenger Aryeh Kozuch told CBC News that the child did not appear unruly but seemed scared. The child repeatedly hid under the seat and, when attempts were made to strap them in, slid out underneath, he said.
Some people questioned why the entire flight had to be disrupted and argued that the family should simply have been removed, the report said.
A similar incident occurred in 2018, when a father and daughter were removed from a Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Atlanta. A passenger who filmed the incident said the child had calmed down and had been quietly seated for more than five minutes before the crew told the father they would be removed.
Southwest said initial reports indicated that “a conversation escalated onboard between the crew and a customer travelling with a small child”.
In another case in 2012, JetBlue removed a family after passengers failed to comply with crew instructions for a prolonged period. The family later appeared on NBC's Today Show, accusing the airline of lacking humanity.
JetBlue said the captain had decided to remove the passengers “for the safety of all customers and crew members on board”.
