“I will never fly with them again,” wrote one frustrated mother after her experience with Turkish Airlines bringing her baby on his first international flight.
The grueling 18-hour trip was supposed to be made easier by purchasing a bassinet seat. Priced at 76 euros ($85), the seat promised comfort for both the mother, who goes by Areana on TikTok, and her baby. However, her hopes quickly vanished when she wasn’t assigned the spot she paid for on the flight from Istanbul.
Highlights
- Mom held her baby for 11 hours while menstruating despite paying for a bassinet.
- Areana’s video has gone viral on TikTok with close to 18 million views.
- Flight crew told her there was no bassinet despite her purchase, leaving her without a seat.
- Turkish Airlines is investigating the incident and may issue a full refund within 14 days.
“I told the flight attendant I had paid for a bassinet seat, but they kept me standing with my baby until everyone was seated,” she recalled.
Her testimony adds to many parents' complaints against Turkish Airlines and other carriers, citing inadequate service, small seats, and lack of accommodation for families traveling with infants.
A Filipino mother went viral on TikTok after sharing her experience of being forced to hold a baby for an 11-hour flight while menstruating despite paying for a bassinet
Image credits: areana473
The mother’s clip, in which she recorded herself crying while carrying her dormant infant in a very small space, has gone massively viral, with close to 18 million views on TikTok at the time of writing.
The mother thought the worst was over after being reassigned to a vacant bassinet seat. Yet, four hours passed without it being installed. Her repeated requests were met with indifference, as one crew member finally told her, “We don’t have a bassinet for this flight.”
“I ended up holding my baby the whole time. I couldn’t even eat,” she wrote.
Areana’s trip then took an even more distressing turn after she noticed that her menstruation started mid-flight, leaving her bleeding and unable to change due to holding her baby.
“I ended up leaving bloodstains on my seat. No one offered to hold my baby.”
Users empathized with the mother, with thousands of comments slamming the airline for their service and other passengers for not helping her with the baby
Image credits: areana473
Following her upload, Areana’s clip received more than 9,000 comments, many of which were from other passengers who shared their own experiences of being disappointed by Turkish Airlines’ services.
“I flew with Turkish Airlines last month and had a similar issue. They didn’t seem to care about helping parents with small kids,” one parent commented.
Other users empathized with the mother and were appalled that she wasn’t offered any help with the baby during the flight.
One wrote, “If I were on that flight and I noticed you with your small baby, I would hold him for you. "
“Fellow mama here. I'm so sorry you experienced this. I wish I was seated next to you so I could help hold your baby while you ate,” another said.
The mother uploaded a follow-up video saying that, while she was treated politely on her first flight, customer service became aggressive as soon as the passengers became majority Filipino
Seeing how viral her video had become and the barrage of critical comments users left against the airline and its workers, Areana uploaded a follow-up video.
In the new clip, the mother clarified that her intent in sharing the original clip was not to tarnish Turkish Airlines' reputation but to document her personal experience as a first-time mom traveling with a baby.
Areana went on to explain that what happened to her was an isolated incident, stating that her flight from Helsinki to Istanbul went smoothly, with flight attendants who were "polite, kind, and helpful," and that it was during her connecting flight from Istanbul to Manila that she felt disrespected.
Image credits: areana473
“I was treated right during my flight from Helsinki-Istanbul where most of the travelers were Western, but everything changed during the flight from Istanbul-Manila, where most of the travelers were Filipino,” she wrote.
The inconsistency in service shocked her, leaving her questioning the airline’s treatment of passengers based on ethnicity. She recounted how flight attendants went from being kind and polite to rude and harsh as soon as she stepped into the plane headed towards the Philippines.
Followers left thousands of supportive comments in both of Areana’s videos. Some asked for an update and if she had received any feedback from Turkish Airlines
Image credits: areana473
“That was an awful experience for your first time traveling with your baby. I hope you get some compensation,” one viewer wrote.
“Thank you. It doesn't matter if I get compensated or not. What matters is that people heard my story, and everyone shares their own experiences,” the mother replied.
Others asked Areana to sue the carrier, but she said she didn’t wish to further ruin their reputation based on the good impression she had during her flight from Helsinki to Istanbul.
The mother also replied to users urging her to file a complaint, stating that she had already done so and would provide an update as soon as it was available.
Turkish Airlines has confirmed that it has sent the mother a response stating that it is investigating the issue and that a full refund will be issued within 14 days if applicable.
"I'm so sorry this happened to you," wrote one viewer, as other joined in to offer their support to the mother
