There are few things worse than boarding a long-haul flight and hearing the piercing cry of an unhappy child behind you. While there’s not much parents can do, a crying child is up there with someone hogging the armrests or putting their hair over the back of their seat in terms of nightmare airline passengers.
Flying is an ordeal at the best of times, but when you end up with an uncooperative neighbor and have your whole ordeal uploaded online, it can be the flight from hell.
29-year-old Jeniffer Castro was flying on a GOL Airlines domestic flight in Brazil, traveling on December 4, 2024. She was shocked to find a toddler in her window seat, and when Castro reportedly ordered the child out of her seat, things got heated. Alongside a third person filming the interaction, the kid’s mother took out a phone to film Castro and can be heard saying: “Iâm recording your face, this is disgusting. Itâs the 21st century and people have no empathy for children.”


Jeniffer Castro went viral following the December flight (TikTok / @ondavirall2.0)
The child apparently cried for the entirety of the 50 minute flight from Rio de Janeiro to Belo Horizonte, with Castro going viral in the aftermath.
Speaking on the Cola Mais Podcast in January 2025, Castro criticized the crew for not getting involved, then said she was planning on taking legal action.
According to the New York Post, Castro has launched proceedings and is citing ‘judicial secrecy’ for not revealing the amount she’s seeking.
Saying she wants to stop similar public shaming and what she called ‘unauthorized exposure’ in future, she explained: “Since that incident, my life has taken a turn I could never have imagined.
“What should have been just an ordinary flight turned into an extremely embarrassing situation, exposing me unfairly and causing consequences that affected both my personal and professional life.
âI was the target of judgments, attacks, and speculation from people who donât even know the full story.”
While she says a crying child can be expected on a flight, she maintains that she was shocked that the other person who had nothing to do with the incident ended up filming her.
Saying her life has changed a lot and she’s now left her previous field of banking, Castro added: “In my personal life, at the height of the repercussions, I practically didnât leave the house.
âIn addition to the emotional impact, I was also afraid, because we know that, unfortunately, there are many bad people in the world.”
Calling out GOL Airlines, she continued: “I decided to sue the airline because what happened to me was a huge embarrassment, and this situation should never have reached this point.
âNo one deserves to go through what I went through, being filmed, insulted, and attacked just for exercising a basic right.”
Maintaining that the lawsuit is about stopping this kind of behavior, Castro said: “We all have rights, and they must be respected, regardless of other peopleâs opinions.”
She concluded: “We live in a society where ânoâ is often seen as rude or selfish, but this needs to change.
“Each person has their own reasons, preferences, and limits, and all of this must be respected without judgment.”
No action is being taken against the child’s mother, while Castro says she wants to ‘rebuild’ her life while advocating for personal boundaries.
Despite Castro adding 2.1 million followers to her Instagram and apparently securing brand deals in the aftermath, she’s awaiting the results of her legal action.
Featured Image Credit: jeniffercastro / Instagram


There is a little-known reason why you should always avoid being booked into seat 11A when youâre booking a flight.
While most airlines now charge you to select your seat, many people opt to let the algorithm randomly allocate them one.
It seems like a money saving tip, after all, everyone on the plane is more or less in the same situation.


If you’re boarding a 737 then you might want to steer clear of seat 11A (Joan Valls/Urbanandsport /NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Okay, you might not get extra legroom and you will probably be seated close to the toilet – but itâs never that bad, right?
Wrong, it turns out there is actually a worst seat of the aircraft that people should avoid at all costs.
And that seat is apparently 11A.
If youâre unlucky enough to get that spot, youâll find that youâre stuck in the middle of the plane with not even a view.
Thatâs because this seat isnât next to a normal window, instead there is just a tiny circular window that you can barely see out of.
But why?
An expert from Flight Radar 24 explained: âRyanair’s seat 11A is windowless thanks to the Boeing 737’s cabin air conditioning system.
âThe air conditioning on modern commercial jets is provided by two âpacksâ that regulate the airflow and temperature in the cabin… Air travels from these packs to the passenger cabin via a series of ducts built into the sidewall of the aircraft.


Here’s the problem, basically every other ‘window seat’ gets at least some view of the window, but not seat 11A (AeroLOPA)
âOne of these ducts is located alongside seat 11A in the Ryanair 737-800 cabin.â
Whatâs even more insulting is that the person on the other side of row 11 in seat F has got a fantastically placed window, which they can make the most of, so your best view from 11A might be to just look right down the row and out of that distant porthole.
Frankly, the unfortunate souls in 12A and 12F don’t seem to have a great view outside either, but itâs still not quite the blank wall that 11A would give you.
If you want some advance warning of the type of view you’d get from your window seat on the plane, then you can hop onto a site like AeroLOPA which has floorplans of pretty much every airlineâs plane.
You’ll be able to see how much legroom you get and what sort of window view you might be in for.
Weirdly enough, if you sit on the right hand side of the plane – so that is seats D, E or F – you can get slightly more legroom on a 737 because the design is slightly asymmetrical.
Featured Image Credit: Emilian Pop/500px/Getty Images/AeroLOPA


A new radically designed aircraft that âblendsâ the wings into the body of the plane has now been purchased by a Canadian airline.
The aircraft type, which is known as a âblended wing bodyâ, could be a glimpse into the future of aviation.
And now, a Canadian airline is looking to expand past its all-Boeing fleet to purchase one.


The futuristic plane has caught the attention of a Canadian airline (Natilus)
The airplane is currently being developed by Natilus, a Californian startup and has been given the name Kona.
It is expected to become a cargo plane which widens in the body the closer it is to the wings and the firm believes that it could reduce fuel use by up to 30%.
On the Natilus website, it read: âOur blended wing aircraft deliver dramatically improved aerodynamic efficiency while also providing a powerful increase in internal volume, translating into less fuel burn, less emissions, higher payloads, and lower operating costs.â
According to the firm, the plane will also have 50% less emissions, 40% more cargo, and will be 25% lighter.
The airline that is eyeing up the Kona is Nolinor Aviation, and speaking to Business Insider, the president of the firm, Marco Prud’Homme, said: âItâll be like opening a new horizon for us, and we can fly to more places that we couldnât in the past.
âFor example, the 737-200 would be too much capacity for some communities, but a weekly flight with Kona would be perfect.â


The plane has a ‘blended wing body’ (Natilus)
He went on to say: âItâs a very costly operation. When we saw their design has the engines mounted at the back of the aircraft, and basically the aircraft becomes the protection for the engines, we saw that this was a great potential for us.â
The businessman added: âSometimes the problem we have up north is that we bulk out on volume before payload because some of those items are not very heavy, but they take a lot of space.
âKona has a lot of volume capacity, so thatâs interesting for us.â
It is thought that the futuristic looking plane would be able to reach more remote places, including locations in Alaska, India and around Africa.
Aleksey Matyushev, who is the CEO of Natilus, said: âThe only way to really connect these mines or remote communities is through air travel. Of course, freight is a huge part of that whole equation.â
It is estimated that the Kona aircraft will begin operation in the early 2030s.
Featured Image Credit: Natilus


One Air Safety Investigator has revealed that there are indeed ‘ideal’ seats that you should always choose when flying, as picking them could be the difference between life and death in the event of a crash.
There’s plenty of debate when it comes to the best seat on a plane, as some have produced evidence proving that specific seats are unquestionably the worst, whereas others weigh up comfort against safety concerns.
With turbulence seemingly on the rise and a number of high-profile plane crashes in recent years, it’s definitely something you should think about when booking your next trip in the air.
Thankfully we’ve been able to receive the keen advice of former Air Safety Investigator Gregory Feith who worked for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as he faced questions in WIRED’s ‘Tech Support’ series on YouTube – one of which involved the question of seat choice.
When asked what the ‘safest seat’ on an airplane really is, Feith had this to say:
“The best place to sit is where you can access an exit. Over the wings, or close proximity to either the forward exit or the rear exit.”
This definitely makes sense both from a safety perspective and one of convenience too, as it’s always a relief to be one of the first to get off the plane – even if that high is often deflated by an hours wait at baggage reclaim.
When considering safety though, Feith expounds that being as close as possible to a potential exit will give you the best case of survival in the event of a crash – and he points out the best way to prepare if you do manage to snag a nearby seat.
“Count the seats,” he explains, “between the exit in front of you and the exits behind you, because airplane crashes unfortunately don’t occur where the airplane is upright. It could be upside down, it could be at night, it could be on fire, you may not be able to stand up, you may have to crawl. Knowing your position in relation to the closest exit is your best bet.”


Flying is, according to Feith, the safest way to travel ‘bar none’ (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Thankfully, despite expressing the importance of staying safe, Feith quells any anxieties that flying is somehow a dangerous way to travel.
He reveals in another answer that the probability of being killed in an airplane accident is actually “1 in 11,000,000,” asserting that “aviation is the safest form of transportation bar none around the world.”
That still won’t likely be enough to calm the nerves of any aviophobic individuals out there, but it’s definitely something to think about next time you’re sat on a long-haul journey.
Featured Image Credit: Wired / YouTube / Alexander Spatari / Getty


If youâre a frequent flyer – or just a very observant one – you might have noticed that some plane seats are different to others.
You might have bagged a window seat, only to discover that above the window is a small black triangle.
Itâs one of those things that we tend to just accept without ever finding out what it means but one flight attendant has lifted the lid on the hidden meaning behind the symbol.
A cabin crew member for Philippines-based airline, Cebu Pacific, has shared the âsecretsâ of aircrafts, revealing what the black triangle means.
Henny Joyce Lim posted a video on her TikTok page, @_hennylim_, detailing little-known information.
In the clip, she said: âNumber one. Passengers sitting next to the triangles get the best view of the wings.
âIf flight crew need to check the wings, these triangles let them know the best vantage points for the slats and flaps outside.
âIf you are flying an airline that allows you to choose your own seat, look for one of the triangles in the cabin. Anybody who loves taking window shots or videos will get the best view of the wings from these seats.â
Lim went on to explain that âthose triangle-marked seats are either at number 10 or at 18, but it still depends on the type of aircraft one is traveling inâ.


The flight attendant revealed why there is a black triangle over certain plane seats (TikTok/@_hennylim_)
The flight attendant ended the video by wishing everyone a safe flight.
This revelation was a shock to a lot of people who took to the comment section to share their reactions.
One user asked: âWhen there is no seat available, can you sit anywhere? Or when checking in, do they give you a seat like that?â
Lim replied, saying: âAircraft transferring on seats is not allowed unless authorized by cabin crew.â
Another person posted: âI’m always in the window seat near the wings, same as in the video, but I don’t notice the triangle.â
A third wrote: âWho wants to get the best view of the wings? Definitely not me.â
A fourth user added: âAlso mainly used for break in points, right?â
Lim responded with: âYes correct also.â


The flight attendant shared the secret online (TikTok/@_hennylim_)
The TikToker isnât the first flight attendant to shed some light on the secrets of aircrafts, with another cabin crew member sharing why planes are always so cold.
Jay Robert, a senior international cabin crew member and creator of A Fly Guyâs Cabin Crew Lounge, said: âWe know itâs cold ⌠but we also know what happens when the cabin is too warm, and that is a lot harder to manage than a cold cabin.
âI used to work on the largest commercial aircraft in the world that seated over 600 passengers, and one of the things I regularly checked was that the temperature did not exceed 73 degrees (Fahrenheit).
âSometimes, I would have two or three faintings on a flight, and I would call the front to check the temperature â it was 75 (Fahrenheit) or higher every time.â