EasyJet passenger ‘screamed in face of toddler’ because child wouldn’t ‘shut up’

The mother of a two-year-old toddler from north Wales says her son was left terrified after a man, reportedly in his 60s or 70s, allegedly pointed his finger at the crying child and “screamed in his face” while on an easyJet flight from Turkey to Manchester last week.

Leo Bancroft apparently found the engine noise upsetting on the flight, according to his mum Sophie, but another passenger in front of them soon took issue with the crying and launched verbal abuse their way.

“The engines started up and Leo started crying, he was crying for a while and then a man in his 60s or 70s in the seat in front screamed in his face ‘shut up’ at the top of his voice.

“He was pointing in Leo’s face as well. I warned him to get out of Leo’s face.

“I put my hand up and asked one of the staff if they could move us, but they said I’d have to wait 10 minutes. I told them that we couldn’t wait as the man was screaming at us,” Sophie told NorthWalesLive.

The incident came to an end after a couple offered to swap seats, which Sophie said they “were really grateful for”, but Leo “was nearly sick” as a result of “crying so hard”.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Sophie continued: “We had been on holiday before when he was seven months old, and we’d been to Turkey for two weeks this time.

“I’m worried that the next time we go on holiday now, he’ll be terrified.”

An easyJet spokesperson told the outlet they are “very sorry to hear” of the pair’s experience on the flight.

“Our crew are trained to assess any issues onboard and act appropriately to ensure our customer’s wellbeing and we are getting in touch with Ms Bancroft to understand more about her experience and offer further assistance,” they said.

It's not the only plane incident to make headlines in recent weeks, as a man was arrested in May for allegedly opening a plane's emergency door mid-flight on a journey to South Korea.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.