Child wearing glow-in-the-dark light-up hat disrupts plane passengers in viral video

Not everyone is happy with this one child on a flight.

Earlier this month, a woman posted a video to TikTok of a little girl wearing a light-up hat while on a flight. The video began with an overview of passengers on the flight, before it panned across the aircraft to show the bright flashing lights.

The source of the lights wasn’t revealed until the end of the video, as the TikToker - who goes by the username @malecastellonn - showed a child wearing a white bunny hat that not only lights up, but also has the ability to move its bunny ears.

Since it was posted on 4 August, the clip has been viewed more than six million times. With over 3,000 comments, many people expressed how upset they would be if they were stuck on the same flight as the young girl.

One commenter explained that passengers may want to sleep on the plane, and how the child would prevent them from getting some rest. “Imagine trying to sleep and all of a sudden the plane turns into a rave,” they wrote.

Other commenters wrote that they weren’t sure if they’d mentally be able to handle sitting on the flight with the child. “I would go insane,” one commenter wrote. Another agreed, writing: “I would lose my mind.”

One concern among commenters was how passengers could be affected when exposed to bright, flashing lights for an extended period of time. “That would literally make me feel ill on a flight,” one person commented. “My migraine could never,” a second commenter agreed. A third commenter pointed out: “I feel like I’d get a headache from that, especially if it was a long flight.”

A flight attendant also voiced her opinion on the incident and what she would have done in that situation. “As a flight attendant, I’d say put that away,” the comment began. “There are people trying to rest, read, watch a movie, etc.”

“Also, there are people with disabilities, and this can be incredibly annoying and irritating for them. Leave stuff like this for home or amusement parks. Not in a tiny tin can at 30,000 feet in the air. Some folks have sensitive eyes, please consider others around you,” she said.

This isn’t the first time plane etiquette has sparked a debate. Recently, one woman asked in the “Am I The A**hole?” Reddit forum if she was in the wrong for not swapping seats with a child on her eight-hour flight.

She explained that she specifically chose an aisle seat so she “could get up without bothering others” and get a “special meal due to health requirements.” However, according to the traveller, a family who she said didn’t “speak much English” had asked if she could switch seats with one of their three children so they could be together.

The Reddit user refused because the proposed seat was in the middle of the aisle, but when another passenger offered his seat as a replacement, she also refused. The passenger went on to criticise her for not taking the seat he offered.

However, Reddit users sided with the woman. “If the family wanted to be together they could have paid to do so,” one wrote, while another added: “You booked the specific seat you wanted, you don’t owe the family anything for not being more prepared. And that other passenger’s an a**hole for reacting like that.”