Caring Passengers Have Whip Round After Fussy Airline Insists Tot Has To Pay For Seat

A little girl aged two who was told she was too old to travel with her parents was able to carry on with her parents after other passengers had a whip-round to buy a ticket.

The footage of the incident was then shared online after it was filmed by Sebastian Narvaez Medina on a LATAM Airline flight from Medellin to Cali in Colombia last Thursday, 14th October.

Sebastian told Newsflash that the family had no idea that they would have to pay for their daughter’s seat after believing she was young enough to travel for free, but the airline said that the age limit was 24 months and the little girl was 34 months old.

Passengers collected money to pay for a ticket for a two-year-old child that was supposed to be taken off the plane for exceeding the maximum age for a free flight on a LATAM 4289 flight travelling from Medellin to Cali in Columbia. (Sebastian Narvaez Medina/Newsflash)

The parents, who were not named, did not have enough cash on them to cover the third seat.

After noticing what was going on, passengers took matters into their own hands and began to collect cash to cover the cost of the seat. The family were then allowed to continue with the flight.

Sebastian said that passengers quickly collected the COP 20,000 (GBP 38.4) needed to pay for the extra ticket.

Passengers collected money to pay for a ticket for a two-year-old child that was supposed to be taken off the plane for exceeding the maximum age for a free flight on a LATAM 4289 flight travelling from Medellin to Cali in Columbia. (Sebastian Narvaez Medina/Newsflash)

In the clip, some of the passengers are heard clapping as they celebrate the successful whip-round.

Sebastian says in the video: “Well, we are with LATAM and they wanted to take this baby who is 2 years old, not 3 years old, off the flight.”

“To clear up all your criticism, LATAM regulations say two years, not 24 months. So until she is three years old, the child continues to be two years old and should not have to pay.”

Passengers collected money to pay for a ticket for a two-year-old child that was supposed to be taken off the plane for exceeding the maximum age for a free flight on a LATAM 4289 flight travelling from Medellin to Cali in Columbia. (Sebastian Narvaez Medina/Newsflash)

He added that despite the airline’s failure to do right by the family, it was “gratifying to see how people came together and in solidarity produced a prompt solution to the situation”.

Some netizens pointed out that LATAM may have been legally in the right as their regulations reportedly state “an adult can travel on national routes with a child under two years of age without paying a fare”.

Local media did not report whether LATAM has publicly commented on the incident.