Flight attendant removed baby from parents mid-flight

A Southwest Airlines flight attendant reportedly removed a baby from her parents’ care mid-flight after witnessing the mother slap her crying child.

Flight 879 was enroute to Albuquerque from Dallas on Monday when the incident occurred. The flight attendant did return the 1-year-old girl to her parents just before the plane landed.

“Our flight attendants do great customer service,” said Southwest Airlines spokesman Brad Hawkins. “In this case, it was a baby that was upset, and the flight attendant asked the mother if she wanted help with the baby.”

He declined to release the name of the flight attendant.

Hawkins did not have further details about the onboard incident, but said the airline asked police to meet the plane when it arrived around 4:30 p.m. at the Albuquerque International Sunport.

“I think it was a solid move [on] the part of the flight attendant to take custody of the child,” Albuquerque International Sunport police chief Marshall Katz told KRQE News. “It neutralized the situation. It calmed everybody down.”

Airport spokesman Daniel Jiron said paramedics checked the baby when the flight landed.

Police returned the child to her parents after speaking to the couple, the flight attendant and other witnesses. The parents were not cited.

“We felt it was an isolated incident,” Katz said.