Family of SIX thrown off US Airways flight for trying to fit into just THREE seats

A family of six who attempted to fly on just three tickets were kicked off the plane by flight attendants.



The parents had bought a ticket for their three-year-old son but not for their 20-month-old twins or eight-month-old baby. They planned to seat one infant in the same seat as their three-year-old and each hold a child in their lap.



The Fickes family boarded a U.S Airways flight from Charlotte in North Carolina to Chicago to visit grandparents over Christmas.

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Sharing seats: Kathy Fickes, with two of her children, said she was 'discriminated' against for trying to fly with six family members in three seats from Charlotte to Chicago

Kathy and Jason Fickes had purchased three tickets and managed to make their way passed the ticket desk and through security screening with their four children.

However once they got on the plane, a flight attendant told them it would not be possible to travel as they had planned because there were not enough oxygen masks to go around.



Mrs Fickes told ABC 7 : ' I felt we were discriminated against because we had too many children in their eyes.'

Mr Fickes added that they 'held up the plane for 40 or 50 minutes' as the family moved seats and tried to accommodate the airline.



They were finally asked to leave the plane despite one passenger offering to pay for another ticket.

Delayed: Mr Fickes said the family held up the plane for '40 or 50 minutes' after buying only three tickets for the flight to Chicago

On the U.S Airways website, it is only possible to buy tickets for children over the age of two.



However in a sidebar it gives the option to add how many younger children will be travelling.

The airline is clear that each child under the age of two must be accompanied by an over-18 if they are sharing a seat.



On domestic flights, a child under the age of two is allowed to travel in the lap of a paying adult free of charge.



The Federal Aviation Administration also states that there must be an oxygen mas k for each flyer.

Playing by the rules: U.S. Airways removed the family from the flight after they tried to fly six people on three tickets

Michelle Mohr, a U.S. Airways spokesman told ABC 7: ' The safety regulations are such that you have to have one child per one adult.'

U.S. Airways refunded the family's tickets.