A family traveling from Paris to Toronto endured a dangerous ordeal on August 13, 2025, after boarding an Air France flight with no functioning air-conditioning.
As Europe sweltered under a heatwave, passengers shared their experiences on social media, with one father sharply criticizing the airline for putting his children in danger.
Highlights
- An Air France passenger described his family’s flight ordeal during Europe’s record-breaking heatwave as dangerous and unacceptable.
- Passengers endured hours in a sweltering cabin with no air-conditioning as young children cried and adults fanned themselves with safety cards.
- The airline cited a technical incident as the cause of the issue, but netizens argued that more should be done for passengers who were affected.
Netizens highlighted that vehicles like aircraft could easily be very dangerous for children when their cabins get too hot.
A father recounted his family’s distress on the Air France flight
Image credits: airfrance (Not the actual photo)
In a post on Instagram, passenger Mitch Wies shared that he, his wife, infant, and toddler were among the first to board Flight AF386 from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.
He immediately noticed the oppressive heat in the cabin. “Upon boarding, the cabin was extremely hot because the aircraft had no functioning air-conditioning,” he wrote in a post on Instagram.
He recalled crew members saying the cooling system would activate once engines started, but that was not to be the case.
Image credits: mitch_wies
Inside the cabin, Wies said it felt “at least as hot, likely hotter.” Over the next 40 minutes, the family tried to keep their children comfortable by removing clothing and offering water.
Their baby cried in distress, and soon all four were drenched in sweat. “Within 40 minutes, we were drenched in sweat,” Wies said.
Soon, the other passengers were also showing signs of discomfort. “Looking down the aisle, I could see hundreds of people fanning themselves with safety cards,” the father wrote.
The ordeal escalated when crew instructions became contradictory. Passengers were first told to fasten their seatbelts because takeoff was imminent, then they were told to unbuckle.
Image credits: mitch_wies
Meanwhile, Wies stated that his wife was scolded for standing to rock their screaming infant, even though passengers had just been told seatbelts were no longer required.
A nurse on board, alarmed by the children’s flushed faces, stepped in to help. She soaked clothes in water and pressed them against the children to cool them.
“Their cheeks were bright red, a clear sign of heat distress,” Wies wrote.
Chaos grew as passengers suffered in the cabin’s heat
Image credits: mitch_wies
The discomfort dragged on for over 2.5 hours. At one point, a power failure left the cabin even more stifling.
Passengers grew restless, and distress among families and elderly travelers became harder to ignore. Eventually, Wies demanded to leave the aircraft for the safety of his children.
Only then was his family allowed to move to the jet bridge, which offered little relief but was at least cooler than the cabin.
He described how his wife sat barefoot on the floor to breastfeed their infant while strangers fanned them with scraps of paper.
When the aircraft was finally deboarded, the chaos continued. Wies noted that his son ended up soiling himself due to his distress. He wanted to get his son cleaned up, but the chaos of the deboarding made it very difficult.
“Our potty-trained son dirtied his diaper in his distress, and as I tried to re-board the plane to change him, I couldn't return to our seats as hundreds of people were filing out of the aisles to finally, officially deboard the plane,” Wies wrote in his post.
Even after the father was able to re-enter the aircraft to clean up his son, he was faced with more issues as Air France made it difficult for his family to rebook a flight and get a hotel room.
Image credits: mitch_wies
“This was followed by further difficulties with customer service to secure a hotel room and rebook for the next day, as they were trying to convince everyone to wait at the gate so we could all re-board the plane ‘once it was fixed,’” Wies wrote.
Air France responds amid Europe’s scorching summer
In his post, Wies stated that the most frustrating part of the ordeal was how avoidable everything was.
Image credits: mitch_wies
“This situation was entirely avoidable,” he said, adding that passengers should have been allowed off much earlier. “My three-month-old was put at serious and unacceptable risk.”
The ordeal took place against the backdrop of one of Europe’s most punishing summers. In the same week, southwestern France recorded unprecedented temperatures, with 40% of stations reporting highs over 40°C.
Air France did not issue a formal apology about the incident, but the aircraft did post a comment on a social media post about the flight.
Image credits: 4300streetcar/Wikimedia (Not the actual photo)
“Due to a technical incident affecting ground handling, flight AF386 originally scheduled for August 13, 2025, between Paris and Toronto has been postponed to the day after.
“Our airport staff were fully mobilized to support and assist customers by offering them overnight accommodation.
“We regret the inconvenience caused by this situation and reiterate that the safety of our customers and crew members is our absolute priority,” the aircraft wrote in its reply.
Image credits: airfrance
For Wies and many others on board, the chaos overshadowed the airline’s apologetic comment.
Commenters also highlighted the dangers of keeping children inside a hot vehicle.
“Those poor kids. As a mom of two, I can only imagine what your poor wife was going through trying to calm her children. The airline should have never boarded any passengers if it was that hot. That is so dangerous,” one commenter wrote.
“I was also on that flight with my children. I remember seeing your family with such young ones who can’t regulate their temperature. Horrendous experience,” a fellow passenger on the flight wrote.
“Look into getting an attorney and sue the Airline for neglect of child,” another noted.
Netizens shared their thoughts about the incident on social media
