‘My 1yo was harassed by drunk guys on a plane - he isn’t the problem, you are’

“Fully grown men with the ability to control themselves swearing at a baby who doesn’t have fully formed faculties … that’s just disgusting.” 

When Aria Nichols was on her flight home from Bali with her baby boy and husband. It was his first birthday, and Aria was hoping for nothing but smooth sailing. 

But all parents know that babies and toddlers can be unpredictable in every situation, especially flights, and can be increasingly self-conscious when taking their bubs on an aeroplane.

As they began their flight home to New Zealand on a red-eye, the plane made a stopover via Sydney. 

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this. 

RELATED: Airline introduces child-free zone, offering passengers ‘extra peace’

Aria's baby was woken repeatedly by drunk guys in the seat ahead. Source: AriaNichols_/X

“Drunk guys were swearing at my baby for crying”

While she and her son were on the flight, a group of “drunk guys” sat in the seats in front, she explained on X (the site formerly known as Twitter). 

She described her son as a “treasure when on solid ground” but it didn’t stop a group of rowdy men in front of them from taking things to the next level. 

Throughout the flight, the men were drinking vodka and “laughing loudly”, causing the little baby to wake up repeatedly. 

“They even had their seats all the way back, no room to even sit properly with the baby,” she explained.

“[Flight attendants] told them to raise their seats so I could get back into mine with the sleeping baby,” she said. 

The mum tried to shrug it off, but the men wouldn’t cease irritating the little baby.

“The drunk guys in front of us were real tough guys swearing at my baby for crying (as he fell asleep),” she said. 

Eventually, the flight attendants told the men there was “no vodka left” and stopped serving them drinks. “I bet they’ve seen it all before and worse!” she said. 

“Babies are not the problem on flights,” she said in the Tweet. 

RELATED: New mum sparks outrage for controversial exit-row plane act

"Babies are not the problem on flights" Source: aria.nichols/Instagram

“I’d rather sit next to a fussy baby than a drunk man any day”

The post has clocked up over 12,500 views, with parents sending their sympathies to the unruly passengers in front. 

“I’m sorry you had to put up with that,” someone wrote. “It’s not ok.” 

“I honestly don't know what's happened to people, so much entitlement and lack of consideration,” said another. “Drunk people on flights are the absolute worst,” another agreed. 

“Fully grown men with the ability to control themselves swearing at a baby who doesn’t have fully formed faculties,” read a comment. “That’s just disgusting. If people see this, they should speak out in support of the parents at the time.”

One woman shared a horror story with her son on a flight from the UK to NZ.

“My 2.5yo was crying nonstop as it was 3 am original time, and he hadn't slept - so overtired,” she began. “Guy behind us [said] 'drug or gag him’ … I let rip, telling him it was the worst day of our lives, and we will gag you in a minute.” 

People agreed with the mum’s judgment on babies on planes. “I’d rather sit next to a fussy baby than a drunk man any and every day,” someone wrote. “Babies are never problems,” said another. 

Originally published as ‘My 1yo was harassed by drunk guys on a plane - he isn’t the problem, you are’