Natalie Williamson is suing Virgin Blue airline for locking her 17-month old toddler in an overhead bin on a flight from Fiji to Sydney.
Supposedly, Williamson’s husband was playing a peek-a-boo game with the toddler involving the overhead compartment when the flight attendant joined in, picked the toddler up, placed him in the locker and closed the latch.
Ms Williamson said her toddler, Riley was locked in the compartment for up to 10 seconds in complete darkness.
A Virgin airline spokesperson said “a thorough investigation of the incident was conducted and the staff member involved was subsequently terminated”.
The airline has offered Ms Williamson three free flights, but the mother has said she is too shaken by the mid-air experience to redeem them.
Ms. Williamson said Riley, now 20 months old, has seen various specialists since the incident after suffering from anxiety and withdrawal.
“He won’t leave my sight now. He sleeps with me. If I’m not in the same room as him, he will scream and yell ‘Mum, mum, mum’,” she said.
And although Virgin Airline has done everything possible to rectify the incident, even crediting Ms. Williamson the full amount of the two flights, she is still not satisfied. A Virgin airline spokesperson issued the following statement:
“The safety of our guests is our top priority and we do not tolerate any breaches of this”. “We have expressed our sincere apologies to the guest and have provided them with a credit for the full amount of the two return flights.”
In your opionion, has Virgin airlines done enough to redeem this incident for Ms. Williamson and should she still be suing the airline because of the indident?
