Elena Volkova was travelling between Auckland and Christchurch, but when it came to trying to strap her two-year-old son into his seat, the young boy was refusing to comply.
 
“The air hostesses were trying to give him biscuits for a couple of minutes but when that didn’t work, one came back and said the pilot could not take off with unsettled passengers and we had to get off the plane again,” Volkova said.
 
Ms Volkova claims she wasn’t given enough time to settle her young child and “he was likely to settle as soon as we got going.”
 
But a spokesperson from Air New Zealand said the problem was the child not being properly restrained in his seat and it was “unfair” to inconvenience other passengers by making them wait any longer.
 
Ms Volkova claims the airline “lacked professionalism” and an understanding of how to deal with children and parents.
 
Volkova’s husband had to drive to the airport from Hamilton to pick up his son.