Mum Chelsea Williams said she is ‘gobsmacked’ at TUI’s message (Pictures: Getty/ the.dad.vibes/instagram)
TUI has been blasted for telling a mum not to breastfeed on a flight because it ‘could make other people uncomfortable’.
Screengrabs show a customer services staff member suggesting to Thomas Williams, 28, that his wife Chelsea, also 28, should not feed their five-week-old baby on board.
The message says: ‘There are no official restrictions (on breastfeeding during a flight) however we would not recommend it because it could make other people uncomfortable.’
TUI has since apologised, confirmed it ‘supports breastfeeding on flights’ and said it is conducting an ‘urgent internal investigation’.
Thomas had asked whether his wife could feed during take-off and landing because the family had already suffered a stressful time on their TUI flight to Almería, in Spain, on July 30.
Chelsea had planned to feed their son at those times because she had read it helps prevent babies from experiencing ear pain.
The mum, from Conwy, North Wales, had been nervous to travel with such a young baby and two-year-old toddler.
The Williams family were excited to go on their five-week-old baby’s first flight (Picture: Thomas Williams)
Her baby was crying as they boarded the plane at Manchester Airport but was settled ‘as soon they’d sat down and started to feed her’.
Chelsea said: ‘We had the baby buckled on the infant buckle that went on my seatbelt and she was feeding at the same time – this was working fine.
‘So I was thinking “she’s not going to bother anyone and she’ll be fed and she’s happy”. So I was starting to feel a bit of relief at this point.
‘Then they came to do the belt check and I was told that I couldn’t feed for takeoff and landing. It wasn’t permitted.’
Chelsea stopped feeding because she ‘didn’t want to make a scene in terms of not cooperating’ and thought ‘maybe she’d missed something’ in a safety policy.
The family were told breastfeeding on a plane might make others ‘uncomfortable’ (Picture: the.dad.vibes/Instagram)
The mum went on: ‘The baby was obviously crying – quite drastically because I had cut her feed while she was in the middle of it – and the toddler was crying because the baby was crying.
‘I was sweating, I was on the verge of tears. I felt like everyone’s eyes were on us because obviously the baby was screaming and I obviously looked not great at that moment
‘The baby’s cries were getting worse – she was obviously in pain, she was obviously hungry as well.’
The family waited until the seatbelt lights went off before starting to feed their daughter again and luckily nobody said anything.
They enjoyed their holiday but Chelsea started to get anxious again about the trip back home on Sunday.
Thomas conatcted TUI’s customer services team the day before their flight to try and get some reassurance. But they were ‘shocked’ at the reply.
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Chelsea said: ‘I didn’t expect that response at all. I expected to hear some policy maybe or a safety regulation. But they made the comment which is obviously just discriminatory against breastfeeding babies and mums.
‘I wasn’t sure what to do with that. I didn’t reply to that, I was just honestly gobsmacked. So then I went the whole way off really anxious that someone was going to say something again.
‘So I didn’t ask on this flight, I just fed the baby and thankfully no one said anything. It’s just inconsistent.’
TUI initially said it advises against breastfeeding during takeoff and landing for safety reasons (Picture: Twitter)
The company later said breastfeeding was allowed ‘at any time’ (Picture: Instagram)
TUI has faced fierce backlash online, after the screengrabs of the conversation were posted, and initially responded by saying: ‘Rest assured, breastfeeding is permitted on our flights. We advise against it during takeoff and landing for safety reasons.’
But the company seemed to change its tune in social media comments, later saying ‘breastfeeding is absolutely permitted on our flights, at any time, as we understand the importance of trying to settle a baby whilst onboard our flights’.
An official statement 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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TUI told a family: ‘We would not recommend breastfeeding on a flight because it could make other people uncomfortable.’