Rhode Island family says they were kicked off flight after 2-year-old daughter threw tantrum
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Rhode Island family of four claims they were kicked off a flight from the Turks and Caicos Islands to Boston after their 2-year-old daughter threw a tantrum.
Colette Vieau said she was on board a JetBlue plane last month with her husband and two daughters -- Natalie, 2, and Cecilia, 3 -- when Natalie began acting up before take-off, WJAR-TV reported Thursday.
According to the family's account, Natalie, who was refusing to sit down, had to be held in place by her parents. Vieau said she and her husband eventually managed to fasten the girl's seat belt, while also dealing with their other daughter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We were holding them down with all of our might, seat belt on," Vieau said. "And I said, 'We have them seated. Can we go now?'"
However, JetBlue's captain reportedly ruled that the aircraft could not take off safely with the family on board and ordered them off the plane. With no other planes departing that night, the family ended up paying $2,000 for an extra night in a hotel and to rebook their flights, Vieau said.
"We did what we were asked to do. We weren't belligerent, drunk, angry or screaming. We were just having a hard time struggling with our children," Vieau said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I don't know that I could blame JetBlue, to be totally fair. I just feel like it's airplane travel today in general. I was certainly upset by the way this flight attendant handled the situation."
In a statement, JetBlue said that the flight "had customers that did not comply with crew member instructions for a prolonged time period. The captain elected to remove the customers involved for the safety of all customers and crew members on board."
Newscore contributed to this report.