Plane passenger blasted for refusing to swap seats with crying toddler on flight SUES airline & woman who filmed her
A BRAZILIAN bank worker who refused to swap seats with a crying toddler on a flight is now preparing to take legal action against the airline and the passenger who filmed her.
The viral spat unfolded on a GOL Airlines flight from Rio de Janeiro to Belo Horizonte on December 4, when Jeniffer Castro, 29, refused to give up her window seat to a young boy.
The child reportedly had a window seat in another row but insisted on sitting in Jeniffer’s spot and began throwing a fit when he didn’t get what he wanted.
After she declined, a boarding passenger whipped out her phone and began recording the exchange, berating Jeniffer for her decision.
The woman can be heard saying behind the camera: “Why doesn’t she want to change seats?
“I even asked if she has some kind of syndrome or something. If someone has a problem, some disability, we understand.
“I’m recording your face, this is disgusting. It’s the 21st century and people have no empathy for children.”
Despite the insults, Jeniffer stayed calm, only asking if she was being filmed.
Instead of drawing widespread condemnation, the clip backfired online, with many siding with Jeniffer for standing her ground.
One person said: “I felt sorry for the girl, she just wanted a peaceful trip, my solidarity.”
Another wrote: “It turns out the only one who is really spoiled is the mother, but now life is showing her who’s boss.”
The incident sparked a frenzy on social media, catapulting Jeniffer into the spotlight.
Her Instagram page now has over 2.1million followers, and she’s since landed several advertising deals.
Referring to herself as a “first-time influencer” in her bio, Jeniffer opened up about the ordeal in an interview on the Cola Mais Podcast on Thursday, revealing her plans to take action.
“Measures are now being taken,” she said. “What I went through wasn’t easy. The flight attendants could have asked me if I needed anything, or if I was bothered by the passenger, but they didn’t. They stayed out of it.”
Recounting the flight, Jeniffer explained: “When I got on the plane, the child was in my seat. I said, ‘This is my seat,’ and waited for him to leave.
“A guy across the aisle said, ‘Change with him, you sit next to the aisle and he’ll have your place.’ I said, ‘No.’
“The boy cried the entire flight, it was around 50 minutes. The mother was very rude.”
She added: “I’m happy about all the support I received, although there were some online haters too. I still don’t know how to feel about it; I’m still trying to process everything.”
It comes after a woman managed to crawl under an airport security barrier before sneaking onto a plane unnoticed.
The unnamed rogue passenger tried to sneak onto a flight at Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, Serbia but was only caught out when she was already on the plane.
Incredible footage showed the woman doing a military-style crawl on her stomach out in the open on January 8 – and she makes sure to look both ways to check she is getting away with it.
She manages to make it through several checkpoints, as it seems that there is nobody nearby to spot her illegal actions.
An automated passport gate that she snuck under had been installed just three weeks earlier on December 20.
Somehow, the woman made it to the Wizz Air flight to Malta, even being able to get on board without a ticket or boarding pass.