A mother has claimed that EasyJet seated her 3-year-old son alone on a plane, separate from her and the rest of the family. The woman, who goes by @oliviaclairem on TikTok, shared the experience in a video that has drawn significant attention and sparked debate in the comments section. In the video, the woman, identified as Olivia, said her young son also has a physical disability, adding to her concern about the seating arrangement. She said she informed the airline of the situation both when the family arrived at the airport and again when they boarded the plane, but claimed staff were unable to resolve the issue before departure. Olivia said that she was not placing blame on EasyJet specifically, saying in the video, “We were with EasyJet, no shade to them at all. Let’s just use this news to make this better, shall we?” She explained that according to EasyJet’s system, being seated across the aisle from each other counts as sitting together, a setup she said was applied to her family. Mother says EasyJet’s seating system failed her disabled toddler, who was left screaming before departure Olivia said the seating arrangement only became a real problem once everyone was buckled in and the plane was preparing for takeoff. According to her account, her son began screaming because he was alone, at which point she placed him on her lap. She said a couple nearby offered to swap seats, which resolved the immediate situation. Airline staff responses to distressed passengers have drawn public attention in recent incidents as well. She also addressed those who might suggest she should have simply paid to choose seats in advance. Olivia said she had tried to do exactly that, but explained that she typically does not check in until one or two days before a flight. She said this is because she is currently pregnant and has young children, so she prefers to keep the option open to change or cancel her flight if needed. When she attempted to select adjacent seats at check-in, more than 24 hours before the flight, Olivia said none were available next to each other. “We just had to hope for the best and trust the algorithm which is obviously set up wrong,” she said in the video. @oliviaclairem When I shared this on my story so many of you said you’d had exactly the same situation. And it’s not about wanting a nice seat we’d be very happy with a row at the back but suuuurely it should be the norm to sit kids with their parents! #airlines #travel #family #news #easyjet ryanair news storytime flight ♬ original sound – Olivia Olivia argued that parents should not have to pay extra simply to sit next to a very young child. “Being sat next to your preschooler is not something I think you should have to pay extra for,” she said. She added, “Surely a 3, 4, 5, 6, 7-year-old should be sat next to their mum or dad.” Concerns around how airlines treat passengers with disabilities during boarding and seating have also surfaced in separate cases. In her video, Olivia called on airlines to change their approach. “If you could just save us the awkwardness of having to just hope that someone on the plane takes pity on you and offers to swap, sit families together as standard, that would be really great,” she said. The video received a lot of comments, with many viewers sharing similar experiences or expressing concern over the issue. One commenter, identified as Orlalala, wrote, “No child should be separated from parents, that’s ridiculous both on a safeguarding level, children being scared etc, but other people shouldn’t feel responsible for a child they don’t know next to them.” Another commenter called it a “maddening, stupid policy,” adding that they personally pay for seats together at the point of purchase. Some commenters noted they had faced similar situations with other airlines. A user named Michaela described a comparable experience involving a 2-year-old and a missed connection, saying an air hostess refused to let the child sit on a parent’s lap because the child was over 2, and that “someone took pity on us and moved.” Another commenter said a similar situation occurred on Turkish Airlines, while a user named Han described a comparable incident with EasyJet, saying the airline’s app failed to let them book seats together despite their willingness to pay. Other commenters pointed out that some airlines include family seating as standard without additional charges, with one user stating that their national airline only charges extra for premium seats like extra legroom or front-row placement, and keeps families together at no additional cost elsewhere on the plane. EasyJet has not commented directly, though say on its website: “We understand that flying with children can sometimes be a challenge, so we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for you.”