A disgruntles plane passenger is suing an airline and a person who filmed her after she went viral for refusing to give up her seat for a toddler during the flight

A woman is suing an airline after receiving backlash online when she refused to swap seats with a crying toddler.

Jeniffer Castro, 29, became the centre of a media storm when she was approached to give up her seat to a young boy on a GOL Airlines flight from Rio de Janeiro to Belo Horizonte on December 4. Jeniffer, a Brazilian banker, refused to move for the tot, who is reported to have had a window seat on another row but wanted to sit elsewhere.

He began to get upset when Jeniffer made it clear the boy was not going to get what he wanted. A woman then began recording the incident. She could be heard asking: “Why doesn’t she want to change seats?

Jeniffer Castro being filmed
‘I’m recording your face, this is disgusting,’ the woman filming said(Image: Jam Press)

“I even asked if she has some kind of syndrome or something. If someone has a problem, some disability, we understand.

“I’m recording your face, this is disgusting. It’s the 21st century and people have no empathy for children.”

Remaining calm, Jeniffer merely asked if she was being filmed. She has now explained that “measures are being taken” against the airline and the woman who filmed her.

Jeniffer Castro on plane
Jeniffer is taking legal action(Image: Jam Press)

“What I went through wasn’t easy,” she told the Cola Mais podcast. “The flight attendants could have asked me if I needed anything, or if I was bothered by the passenger, but they didn’t. They stayed out of it.” She continued: “I am suing the company and the woman.”

Betihno Alves, an advisor to Jeniffer, told Revista Oeste: “We are filing a lawsuit against the airline due to the lack of assistance in relation to the embarrassment faced by Jeniffer. In addition, the crew remained next to the woman who filmed and the child’s mother, disregarding the guidelines of the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) which prohibits the exchange of seats.”

Jeniffer Castro
Jeniffer now has over two million followers on Instagram(Image: Jam Press)

Recounting the incident, Jeniffer added: “When I got on the plane, the child was in my seat. I said, ‘This is my seat,’ and waited for him to leave.

“A guy across the aisle said, ‘Change with him, you sit next to the aisle and he’ll have your place.’ I said, ‘No.’ The boy cried the entire flight, it was around 50 minutes. The mother was very rude.”

Jeniffer Castro
Jeniffer says she ‘still doesn’t know how to feel’ about the incident(Image: Jam Press)

She has received a lot of support since the incident last year and now has over two million followers on Instagram. Jeniffer, who refers to herself as a ‘first-time influencer’ in her Instagram bio, said that she became the target of online ‘haters,’ but is “happy about all the support I received.”

“I still don’t know how to feel about it; I’m still trying to process everything,” she admitted.

Coming to Jeniffer’s support at the time, viewers of the clip were quick to comment. One person wrote: “I felt sorry for the girl, she just wanted a peaceful trip, my solidarity.”

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