Recently, a woman caused a tense situation on a flight by asking a couple to stop changing their baby’s diaper in their seats. The couple, who thought they had no other choice, got upset. This situation shows the ongoing issue of balancing parent responsibilities and the comfort of other passengers in a small space like a plane.
The woman shared her story.
I was on a long flight today, sitting behind a couple with a baby. I get really nauseous on planes, so I tried to sleep during the flight. The baby’s crying kept me awake, but I understood that flights can be scary and stressful for babies, and no one could do anything about that.
What really bothered me was when the couple changed their baby’s very smelly diaper right in their seats, using the mom’s food tray as a changing table. We were sitting at the back of the plane, close to the bathrooms, and I checked that they had baby changing tables. I didn’t say anything the first time, but when they went into the diaper bag again a few hours later, I asked if they could please use the bathroom instead of making everyone on the plane deal with the smell.
The mom got angry and told me I didn’t understand how hard it is to travel with a baby, which is true—I don’t have kids. The flight attendant nearby agreed with me and asked them to only change the baby in the bathroom. A few minutes later, the pilot made an announcement that all diaper changes must be done in the bathroom, which made both parents look really annoyed.
Was I wrong to ask them to stop changing the baby in the middle of the plane, which ended up getting the flight crew involved?
People in the comments mostly agreed with her.
- There are changing tables in the bathrooms. That’s what they are for.
- Basic rules of baby changing: don’t do it, where people eat or where people are in close proximity. If you have a choice, always use the changing tables.
- The flight attendant and the pilot agreed with you and made announcements to verify that what they did was gross. People eat on those trays and while I know they are supposed to clean them between flights, let’s be honest, sometimes they might miss.
- TBH, I’m surprised the flight attendant hadn’t told them this the first time.
- You were asking something reasonable and for all that travelling with an infant is stressful, the parents know this when booking the ticket!
The only point of sympathy I would have for the parents is that the changing facilities in most airplanes are barely fit for purpose. The change tables on short haul aircraft are wedged into the corner of the fuselage and offer basically no room. It is my single worst experience changing a baby in 18 months. But still, don’t change nappies on seats.
