Mum hands chocolate to fellow plane passengers on Auckland flight, divides the internet

The mum handed the gift bag to fellow passengers on a flight to Auckland. Photo / Twitter

Anyone who's flown with a baby before knows it can be a stressful situation.

A mother on a flight to Auckland tried to manage expectations of fellow passengers by handing out little gift bags with chocolate and an apologetic note written on the baby's behalf.

One of the passengers shared a photo of the gift bag in a tweet, showing the note from the mother of the nine-month-old boy.

"Today I am going to Auckland with my parents. I'm a little nervous and scared because it's my first flight in my life, which means that I might cry or make too much noise," the note said.

"I will try to keep quiet, though I can't make any promises. Please excuse me. And my mum prepared a little gift bag for you! It has some chocolate and candy. Enjoy your trip. Thank you."

Twitter users' opinions on the mum's thoughtful gesture were divided.

While everyone agreed it was a thoughtful thing for the mum to do, many thought it's a shame the mum felt the need to apologise on her baby's behalf.

"This is a beautiful gesture, but a parent shouldn't feel obliged to give presents to other passengers to pacify them, just because they are travelling with their young baby. Babies cry, we all know this," one Twitter user replied.

"Don't be the kind of traveller who thinks parents should apologise for babies being babies. Be the kind of traveller who saw me heading to the back of the plane and volunteered to take my baby for a cuddle and play so I could pee without balancing a baby on my knee," another person said.

"I so feel for the mother who, it would seem, was anxious about her baby being a baby on a flight," someone else replied.

Rueben Skipper, who posted the photo, said they were "a beautiful whānau".