A family traveling from Hawaii to Los Angeles was removed from a Delta flight.
Delta is working to make amends, according to a company spokesperson.
A video posted Wednesday night shows passenger Brian Schear in a lengthy conversation with an airline staff member about whether his young child could have his own seat on the flight.
Schear told Los Angeles-based KABC he originally bought the seat for his 18-year-old son but later decided to send him home on an earlier flight to use the seat for his younger son.
The unnamed airline staff member tells Schear in the video that the small child cannot have his own seat and that the person named on the ticket must be in the seat at takeoff. Schear told KABC he told Delta he was planning to use the seat for his younger son when they boarded the return flight.
In the video, the staff member threatens Schear and his wife, Brittany, with jail time for not cooperating.
"As a mother, you have a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old - it doesn't matter whether that's true or false. It put fear in me," Brittany told KABC.
According to the Delta website, children up to 2 years old do not need their own seat but people "can also choose to purchase a seat for your infant as long as you have the proper restraint device. Delta offers these seats at discounted flights."
Schear and his family eventually were forced off the flight after he offered to keep the child on his lap. He told KABC that the family had to find a hotel room and pay $2,000 for a United flight the next day to get home.
Delta said the family would be given a refund.
"We are sorry for the unfortunate experience our customers had with Delta, and we’ve reached out to them to refund their travel and provide additional compensation," the company said in a statement. "Delta's goal is to always work with customers in an attempt to find solutions to their travel issues. That did not happen in this case and we apologize."
Here is the full video of the encounter. Warning crude language is used.
