Outrage sparks after British Airways tells mother to put baby on the floor on blankets

Before the birth of her child, Kate Haussauer booked premium seats for her flight from the United Kingdom to Canada. Haussauer made the booking six months ahead to ensure that she would be able to use the premium baby basket while taking the eight-hour flight with her five-month-old baby. However, days before her flight, British Airways informed her that she could not use the in-flight bassinets. Instead, she was advised to carry her child for eight hours or put him down on the floor.

Haussauer was supposed to fly from Heathrow to Toronto with her husband and her baby on November 16. She booked premium tickets six months ago while she was still pregnant. After the birth of her son, Haussauer and her husband wanted to take their son to meet family members based in Canada.

Along with booking premium tickets, the new mum called British Airways multiple times to confirm the availability of in-flight baby baskets. Since it would be an eight-hour-long flight, the new parents needed the bassinet to put the baby down while they ate or while the baby slept.

On the evening of November 11, Haussauer received a call from British Airways. The airline informed her that they would be using a new Airbus on its Heathrow to Toronto route. The economy and premium bassinets on the airbus are considered unsafe by the airline. So, the family would not be able to get a bassinet during their flight.

The confused mother asked the airline representative how they would manage without the bassinet. British Airways' response shocked the new mother. The representative said that the family had to carry the baby in their arms or on a sling throughout their journey.

Haussauer asked them how they would manage to eat or give the child a comfortable position to sleep. The representative told her that the flight crew could put some blankets down on the aircraft floor for the baby to lie on.

The outraged mother pointed out how unhygienic and unreasonable the solutions being suggested were. Alternatively, the representative suggested that Haussauer could cancel her tickets but she would only be refunded the tax amount as it would count as a late cancellation.

According to The Daily Mail, an airline spokesperson denied suggesting to Haussauer to put her baby on the floor. They further claimed that the availability of a bassinet on board is not guaranteed.