Father & 2-year-old Kicked Off Southwest Airline Plane

Headlines of airlines removing people from flights and poor press have become pretty prevalent lately.  However, I will admit, I was very surprised by the most recent headline involving my favorite airline, Southwest Airlines whose crew members removed a father and his 2-year-old daughter because she was scared and crying on a flight.  

ABC reports that the Atlanta bound flight had left its gate at Midway International Airport before it turned around to remove the family.  Passenger, Alexis Armstrong shared a video of the incident from her Facebook page, and told ABC reporters that the Southwest flight attendant had warned the father that he needed to calm her down or he was going to be escorted off the plane with her. Armstrong was obviously disturbed by how the situation was handled, and said the following about the 2-year-old child,

She was crying, she was nervous.

Since the video went viral, Southwest has responded with the following statement:

We always aim for a welcoming and hospitable experience and regret the inconvenience to all involved. The traveling party was booked on the next flight to Atlanta after the original flight continued as planned. We will reach out to the customer to listen to any concerns they have about their experience and look forward to welcoming them onboard again soon.

The father and child involved in the incident have not been identified.