Mother slams TUI after being told to stop breastfeeding her six week old baby during take-off because she might ‘make other passengers feel uncomfortable’
- Mum-of-two Chelsea Williams claims she was told not to breastfeed on plane
- The 28-year-old contacted TUI directly and was given the shocking advice
A new mother has slammed TUI for ‘discrimination’ after she claims she was told not to breastfeed her six-week-old baby during take-off as she might ‘make other people feel uncomfortable’.
Chelsea Williams, 28, had boarded a flight with airline TUI headed for a holiday in La Marina, Alicante, Spain, with her family on July 26, when the incident happened.
The mum-of-two decided to breastfeed her newborn during take-off and landing to alleviate any potential ear pain the baby might feel. But, she claims she was later approached by a member of the cabin crew who told her she ‘wasn’t permitted’ to feed during take-off and landing.
She says she stopped feeding her baby to avoid ‘making a scene’ but was left feeling anxious about the family’s return trip home as a result.
Her husband Thomas, 28, decided to ask the airline if his wife was allowed to feed their newborn during flight take off via the company’s app the day before they were due to return home.
But they were shocked at the response, which suggested Mrs Williams avoid breastfeeding on the plane as it may ‘make other people feel uncomfortable’, despite there being no official restrictions in place.
Chelsea Williams, 28, had boarded a flight with airline TUI headed for a holiday in La Marina, Alicante, Spain, with her family on July 26, when the incident happened
Mrs Williams claims she was approached by a member of the cabin crew who told her she ‘wasn’t permitted’ to feed during take-off and landing
Mrs Williams, from near Conwy in North Wales, said: ‘We were trying to make the [travel] experience as non-stressful as we could. Before going, I did some research and it said to feed for take-off and landing.
‘They came to do the belt checks, and saw that the baby was buckled in and feeding and I was told it wasn’t permitted to feed during take-off and landing.
‘I didn’t know what to do, because obviously I’d done research and was planning on feeding my baby – she needed to be settled.
‘I didn’t want to cause a scene by not cooperating, so I stopped feeding. I didn’t feed while we were taking off, and the cries were getting worse. She was obviously in pain.
‘I was embarrassed, because the baby was crying and all eyes were on me. I waited until the seatbelt lights went off, and when it did, I started to feed the baby.
‘The night before we returned home, I was getting anxious about travelling again and feeding my baby. My husband told me to message the TUI customer service on the app. We went on the app, and he asked if it was okay for me to breastfeed during taking or landing.
‘Their response was absolutely shocking. I didn’t expect that response at all; I expected a policy maybe, or a safety regulation. That’s why I didn’t feed [during the take-off] because I thought maybe I’d missed something.
‘I didn’t reply, I was honestly gobsmacked.
The mum-of-two decided to breastfeed her newborn during take-off and landing to alleviate any potential ear pain the baby might feel
‘I went into the travel day home really anxious that someone was going to say something to me again or not let me feed my baby. I didn’t ask [if I was allowed to feed her] on the flight home at all. I just fed my baby, and thankfully nobody said anything about this flight.’
She added she has been put off from flying with TUI until reforms are made.
‘I had been on aeroplanes before with my toddler [when she was a baby], and I’ve been able to breastfeed with no issue, but we haven’t flown as a family with TUI before’, she said.
‘This experience has made me less likely to fly with TUI in future unless they make changes. Change some policies, train some more people, and obviously improve their attitude towards breastfeeding mums and breastfed babies.’
She shared a screenshot of her conversation with TUI customer support online where she slammed the airline for ‘complete discrimination’ against breastfeeding mothers.
The full response from TUI reads: ‘Thank you for contacting TUI.
‘There are no official restrictions, however we would not recommend it because it could make other people feel uncomfortable. Let us know if you have any further questions.’
Mrs Williams said TUI has since apologised via Facebook messenger, and have said they are looking into the matter with a ‘further investigation’.
A spokesperson for TUI said: ‘We are really sorry for the distress caused to Ms Williams and her infant. As a family friendly travel company, we support breastfeeding on our flights at any time.
‘We are currently conducting an urgent internal investigation and will be making sure that all colleagues are retrained on our breastfeeding friendly policy’.
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