‘Sorry for Crying, here's a smile': Baby's adorable post-flight apology video melts hearts, sparks parenting debate

Time of India

6 hours ago

In a world where airplane meltdowns and mid-air tantrums often go viral for all the wrong reasons, one tiny traveler has flipped the script — with a smile. Baby Ava, just 5 months old, has become an unlikely internet darling after a video of her "apologizing" to passengers post-flight melted millions of hearts online.
The clip, posted by her mother Hannah Chestnut on
Instagram
under the handle @themumcrew, was shot at the end of an 8-hour flight from London to Atlanta. It shows Hannah's husband, Joseph, holding little Ava at the aircraft's exit door as fellow fliers disembark — while Ava flashes innocent grins to each passing passenger.
'We told her she had to apologize to everyone face-to-face for what she put them through on the flight,' Chestnut jokingly captioned the clip, which has since clocked over 4 million views and thousands of impassioned comments.
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A post shared by The Mum Crew (@themumcrew)
In an interview with
Newsweek
, Chestnut clarified that Ava was actually very well-behaved during the transatlantic leg — the apology was purely for laughs. 'Ava kept smiling at all the other passengers as they got off the plane. So I decided to film it as her apologizing to all of them,' she said.
Ironically, the real drama unfolded after — during a connecting flight from Atlanta — when, according to Chestnut, Ava finally 'acted up.' Laughing at the twist, she added, 'That was the flight we actually should've filmed the video after.'
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The Internet responds: Heartwarming, hilarious; or just too much?
The video quickly went viral, sparking a range of reactions, from warm admiration to annoyed skepticism. 'I would never be mad at that face,' one user gushed. 'It's a baby, they cry. It's one day out of your life. Grow up,' chimed another, defending the right of infants to, well, be infants.
Others, however, saw the moment as yet another instance of performative parenting. 'NOBODY cares about your baby. Let them board the plane without bothering people for social media attention,' a critical commenter posted. 'What is it with parents thinking everyone wants to look at their baby,' added another.
But Chestnut took the backlash in stride. 'It's been so fun to see the video go viral, and we never expected such a silly moment to reach so many people so quickly,' she said, unfazed by the mixed reactions.
Whether you see Ava's video as a wholesome snapshot of family life or just another viral stunt in the age of attention, there's no denying its cultural resonance. It taps into the age-old tension between frazzled parents and flight-weary passengers — while reminding us that sometimes, a baby's smile is all it takes to disarm even the most annoyed traveler.
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