Photo: TikTok
Just put the seat belt on.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Nov 16, 2022
A man named Audi Khalid posted a video to TikTok showing what happens when passengers decide not to fasten their seatbelts before a plane begins its descent for landing.
Khalid was on a flight from Bali to Singapore and posted the video to TikTok a couple of days ago on November 14, 2022, where it has already received over 2 million views.
Passengers on the flight refused to obey the pilot's commands to fasten seatbelts for landing.
When the pilot was informed that not all passengers were secure, he refused to land the plane.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking,” the pilot announces over the intercom. “We have decided to discontinue the approach into Singapore Changi Airport and this was because I was informed that we have still got passengers who are not seated with the seatbelts securely fastened.”
After the pilot was informed that not all passengers were safely seated with their seatbelts fastened, he refused to land the plane and explained what would happen next.
“We are legally not able to land an aircraft if the cabin isn’t secured,” he continued. “We are now turning around again for another approach, and if we have to do another missed approach for the same reason, the airport police will be involved and they will take the necessary action.”
The pilot once again reminded passengers to safely take their seats and fasten their seatbelts before the video cuts to another announcement that’s being made when the airplane has already landed.
This time, it isn’t the pilot making the announcement but a woman who is assumed to be one of the crew members.
She reveals that the local authorities will be boarding the aircraft as soon as the plane arrives at the gate, reminding passengers to stay in their seats as they take whatever action is needed.
The video shows auxiliary police officers entering the plane, discussing with seated passengers, and subsequently escorting a woman with a child off of the plane.
“This is just protocol that we have to follow. This is to ensure the safety of not just all the passengers but for my fellow crew members as well,” the pilot announces on the intercom. “We do hope that you understand and once again sincerest apologies.”
Once off the plane, Khalid records a man being questioned by police as the woman that was escorted off stands behind him.
People online were confused as to why the passengers wouldn’t fasten their seatbelts.
“Why is it so difficult to fasten your seat belts?” one user wrote on TikTok.
“Why on earth would anyone refuse to fasten their [seat] belt? Seriously!!!!???” another user wrote.
Others asked for more context as it seemed like having authorities involved was a huge escalation, but some clarified that Singapore was very strict when it came to law enforcement.
“I don't understand how people have the audacity to f--k around in places like Indonesia or Singapore,” one user wrote on Reddit. “They're literally some of the strictest places in the world when it comes to law enforcement.”
Someone on Reddit clarified what happened by providing context to the situation.
When the video was reposted to Reddit, one user posted an explanation of what happened according to their friend that was on the plane.
“According to her, the mother decided to breastfeed her baby just before [the] final approach,” they wrote. “She then refused to sit down and buckle up because she was breastfeeding, standing up in the aisle. [The] crew tried to get her to comply but she threw a Karen. [The] pilot had no choice but to abort the landing due to obvious safety issues.”
They revealed that the man in the video who was being questioned was the woman’s husband and that the incident caused a lot of chaos as many people on the flight had connecting flights.
Other Redditors jumped in to defend the mother’s actions, claiming that breastfeeding “can help infants pressurize their ears during descent,” but also criticized her for feeling the need to stand in the aisle to do it.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Keep up with his rants about current events on his Twitter.