"Making Noise"... Chinese Passengers Lock 1-Year-Old Child in Airplane Bathroom

"Action Was for Other Passengers," Controversy Continues Despite Explanation
Airline Issues Statement: "Acted with Guardian's Consent"

Female passengers on a Chinese airplane took a crying child to the restroom and locked them inside.
[Photo source=Online community capture]

Two women on a domestic flight in China locked a one-year-old girl in the airplane bathroom, claiming that her crying was too loud, shocking local netizens.

On the 29th (local time), the British BBC reported, "A video of two women locking a young child in an airplane bathroom has recently been circulating mainly on Chinese online platforms." The video was filmed on a flight departing from Guiyang in southwestern China to Shanghai at 7 a.m. on the 24th. One of the two women, named Guo Tingting, posted the video on her social media, which led to its spread.

In the video, the girl, who boarded the plane with her grandmother, begins to cry inside the cabin. As the crying becomes loud enough for people to cover their ears, two women appear and take the crying child to the airplane bathroom. They then say, "You must stop crying to come out of the bathroom," and lock the child inside.

Local netizens who saw the video were shocked. They posted numerous critical comments such as, "Locking a one-year-old child is abuse," "How can someone be so lacking in empathy," and "How could she post this herself?"

In response, Guo Tingting explained, "It was an action for the sake of other passengers." She added, "I wanted to calm the child and let everyone rest," and described the situation, saying, "Some passengers moved to the back of the plane to avoid the noise, and some covered their ears with tissues."

Despite the explanation, controversy continued, and Guo Tingting eventually made her account private.

The airline issued a statement saying, "The grandmother traveling with the child agreed to the two women taking the child to the bathroom." The airline added, "While the two passengers took the child to the bathroom for discipline, the child's grandmother waited in front of the bathroom door," and "The child's mother also confirmed the situation with the grandmother and understood the actions of the passengers who helped on board."