A Reddit user accused of leaving their 18-year-old niece alone overnight in an airport terminal has been backed online.
In a post on the r/AITAH subreddit, u/QuestionThis623 shared details of a chaotic travel day following a family wedding.
Multiple relatives, including the original poster (OP), were flying standby on the same route home, which included a layover.
While the group successfully boarded the first flight, the second flight took off with one notable person missing: Rachel, the 18-year-old daughter of the OP's sister.
"We didn't find out until we all got off the flight," the OP wrote. "There were a bunch of texts from her saying she didn't know what to do."
Rachel was unable to leave the terminal due to age restrictions on hotel check-ins and was left stranded until the next flight more than 24 hours later.
The family blamed the OP for the oversight. As the last person in their group to be called for boarding, Rachel's mother and grandfather believed they should have offered up their seat for the teen.
But the OP defended their actions—or lack thereof—citing exhaustion and a hangover from the previous day's wedding celebration.
"I just wanted to quickly get to my seat so I could sit down and close my eyes," they wrote.
The situation escalated when a thumbs-up gesture—apparently intended to answer, "Are you feeling okay?"—was misinterpreted by Rachel's mom as confirmation that her daughter had boarded safely.
"I thought she was just asking if I was feeling okay, not asking if Rachel also got on," the OP explained.
They also questioned why the responsibility fell solely on them when multiple family members—including Rachel's mother and father—were already on the flight.
In an edit, the OP clarified that their other sister, cousin and Rachel's two underage siblings were also on the flight.
Others excused themselves from responsibility due to work commitments the next day, while the OP had none.
At the time of writing, the post had received over 5,400 upvotes and hundreds of comments, with many users showing support for the OP, while slamming the parents in question.
"Her parents were on the plane? And they didn't make sure she was? And they are looking for somewhere to point an accusing finger??? NTA," one user wrote.
"You aren't her parent, not your responsibility. Would it have been nice? Yes. Was it her parents' responsibility? Yes," added another.
Licensed mental health counselor Veronica Lichtenstein told Newsweek that parents are more likely to view these situations through a protective lens.
"Having said that, the mom was there and she made sure her younger kids got on the plane," she explained. "If she didn't explicitly ask someone to watch out for her 18-year-old, it's possible the family gives Rachel a lot of independence."
Lichtenstein also guessed there may have been some underlying tension between the siblings, such as a competitive dynamic.
"If this were my client, I would dig into their relationship with their sister," she said. "Was there unspoken pressure to step up? Could she have checked in with Rachel? Sure.
"But the mom could've been clearer, too. Moving forward, I would encourage the them to talk it out with their sister; validate her feelings, but also set boundaries so expectations are crystal clear next time."
Newsweek reached out to u/QuestionThis623 via Reddit.