Two women in China locked a crying toddler girl in an airplane’s lavatory during a domestic flight in order to “educate” the child about manners.
The incident took place on August 24, 2024, on a Juneyao Airlines flight H01259 heading from Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport (KWE) to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG).
The girl, who was traveling with her grandmother, began crying in the middle of the flight. One woman who was involved in the incident shared a video on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.
The video captures two women approaching the crying child and locking her into the aircraft’s lavatory. Neither of the women are thought to be related to the child. Local media reports indicate that the girl was just over one year old.
The video shows the little girl crying and attempting to break free from the locked lavatory. One of the women tells the toddler that she can only leave when she stops crying.
The two women prevented the little girl’s grandmother from going to the toilet while the girl was locked away. However, the airline later said that the grandmother had given the two women permission to “educate” the girl.
“Be quiet for 3 minutes or we will not let you go out to find grandma,” one of the women told the child.
“If you don’t cry, we will take you to grandma”, the second one can be heard saying.
In her post, the women claimed to be trying to help others on board. The video has since been deleted.
After the girl was released, she remained silent throughout the flight.
The incident went viral and has stirred up considerable controversy amongst users of social media. Some claimed that “it’s no different from kidnapping”, calling the situation “child abuse”.
Responding to the criticism, the woman posted on Douyin that she “prefers to take action rather than be a bystander”.
Juneyao Airlines officials informed local media on August 26, 2024, that they are looking into the complaints received about the incident. Authorities have not yet indicated whether any charges will be filed against the women involved in the incident.