Travellers on a flydubai flight from Dubai to Albania on Thursday joined together in song to calm down a crying child.
As a little boy travelling on the flight to Tirana cried in his father’s arms, passengers broke into a rendition of Baby Shark.
“I was taking a flight to Tirana and the child sitting next to me was crying non-stop,” said Parikshit Balochi, a radio DJ in Dubai, who posted a video of the incident on his Instagram account, told The National.
“First, people sitting around him were trying to distract him, but when this didn’t work a group of guys — myself included — began singing Baby Shark, and more and more people joined in.”
The infectious tune has been delighting children the world over since it went viral in 2016, becoming the first YouTube video to reach 10 billion views earlier this year.
On this flight, it seemed to do the trick, with the crying child soon soothed.
The family did not speak English but were on the six-hour flight to Albania after a trip to Dubai, says Balochi.
“Earlier in the flight, the little boy was showing me photos and videos from his visit to Dubai. He kept scrolling through his parent's phone, showing me all of the theme parks he had visited when he was here,” said Balochi.
The travel blogger and breakfast radio DJ on City 1016 lives in Dubai and is in Tirana for a three-day getaway.
“I love travelling and I haven't done a solo backpacking trip in a long time — I am just glad my wife let me do this. Whenever I get time off from my radio show, I try and travel somewhere,” says Balochi.
“As an Indian passport holder it's very difficult to travel, we need to apply for visas everywhere. Albania has a visa on arrival policy for Indians who have a valid US Visa or UAE visa holders.
“And of course, the country is beautiful. People have converted nuclear bunkers from its previous conflict into museums, cafes and art galleries. I just wanted to visit before it becomes too touristy, right now it’s still very raw.”
