An air passenger shouted at a disabled schoolgirl and told her parents to “shut that child up” after she started crying on a flight to Manchester, the girl’s mother has claimed.
Nicole Colenso wrote a Facebook post describing the moment the “abusive” woman in her twenties berated the family when eight-year-old Yasmin, who suffers from Sturge-Weber syndrome, had a “meltdown” shortly after their Jet2 flight left Ibiza airport.
The woman sitting in front allegedly complained the child’s crying had “spoilt her beauty sleep” and continued to rant at the family, even after the parents explained their daughter’s disability “very politely”.
The passenger then proceeded to call Yasmin’s father a “p****” and ordered the parents to “shut her up”, according to Colenso’s post.
She wrote: “We are sorry our daughter stopped you from getting your beauty sleep but clearly she was having a meltdown and was not feeling 100%.
“As you felt the need to turn round and ask us to ‘shut that child up !’ this didn’t help her anxiety levels or ours in trying to manage the situation.
“We explained her situation to you very politely and said we are sorry if she is causing a problem and maybe ask if she could to be moved? This resulting in you repeating that you were ‘sick of the noise and can’t you just shut her up!’
“You continued to be abusive and publicly called her Daddy a p**** in front of her and her other 3 siblings. Your behaviour and outburst was not helpful whatsoever in helping to calm down our daughter’s anxiety.
“I hope social media helps for this post to find you to let you know that same little 8-year-old girl ended up being taken to hospital by ambulance that evening as she became seriously unwell. Maybe you managed to get a good night sleep?”
She said that later that evening, Yasmin’s lips turned blue and she had to be rushed to the hospital. According to the mother, her daughter had not been to a hospital since 2013.
The post has since gathered thousands of likes and shares on the social networking site and an outpouring of support for the family.
Colenso said Yasmin had up to 12 epileptic seizures every day and suffered from nerve problems due to her Sturge-Weber syndrome.
