In a move that’s ignited a fierce debate, two female airline passengers on a flight from Guiyang to Shanghai took matters into their own hands when a toddler’s endless crying became too much to bear.

According to reports, the incident occurred on August 24 aboard a Juneyao Airlines flight, and the details have since set the internet ablaze as reported by the New York Post.

The young child, reportedly traveling with her grandparents, cried continuously for nearly the entire three-hour journey.

According to a statement by the airline, the child’s tantrum was so overwhelming that some passengers resorted to using tissues to block out the noise, while others relocated to the back of the plane to escape the commotion.

Clearly fed up, two female passengers decided to take action.

In a move that has shocked many, these passengers ushered the crying toddler into the airplane’s lavatory, effectively locking her inside to “teach her a lesson.” Astonishingly, the child’s grandmother didn’t object and allowed the impromptu timeout to proceed.

The women captured the incident on video and posted it on Douyin, China’s equivalent of TikTok, with one of them seen inside the bathroom with the distraught child.

In the video, the women are heard making ultimatums to the child, saying, “If you stop crying, auntie will take you back to grandma,” and, “We won’t let you out unless you stop crying.”

Initially, the women seemed quite proud of their so-called “discipline” method. One of them even wrote in a now-deleted social media post that the child’s crying was so unbearable that passengers were desperately trying to drown out the noise.

She seemed to justify their actions as a necessary measure to restore peace in the cabin.

However, the backlash was swift. Juneyao Airlines quickly issued a statement condemning the women’s actions and apologizing for the oversight by the flight crew, acknowledging that such an incident should never have been allowed to occur.

The airline’s apology did little to quell the outrage brewing online.

Critics on social media didn’t hold back. One commentator on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform, remarked, “Adults in their 30s can have emotional breakdowns, but people don’t allow toddlers to have theirs.”

Another user insisted that the grandmother and the two women should face legal consequences and that social services should intervene.

Despite the widespread condemnation, a small number of commenters supported the women’s drastic actions, with one user writing, “To be honest, some children cannot do without some education.”

This incident has opened up a broader discussion on how society deals with the challenges of traveling with young children, raising questions about where the line between discipline and cruelty is drawn.

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