A DELTA passenger has complained that she was left with bruised ribs after being kicked repeatedly by a child on a recent flight.

But after informing the cabin crew, the mum-of-three claims that she was told it was her being the nuisance — not the kicking child.

Sally Canario, from Los Angeles, was on an overnight flight from LAX to Minneapolis on April 2 when the incident occurred, The Sun reports.

“I was up against the window, trying to get some sleep on a red eye flight,” she told Sun Online Travel.

“A stranger’s daughter was trying to sleep on the plane with her head in her mother’s lap and her feet in my face, in my side, and on my lap.

“The girl threw a bad tantrum — screaming, crying, and bicycle kicking while she was trying to sleep, (but) the airline would not accommodate me for a safer, comparable seat.”

Sally claims that when she asked a flight attendant for help, she was made to feel like she was being a nuisance.

She said: “I flagged down a flight attendant to file an injury report.

“His response was, ‘I am not a babysitter, you two parties need to work things out.

“‘This is a full flight. I do not take injury reports... you aren’t injured.

“‘I heard you were causing trouble and harassing the family next to you.’”

According to Sally, this was an untrue allegation and the mother of the child told the cabin crew member that she wasn’t being harassed.

Instead of blaming the family, Sally believes that the fault lies with Delta’s policy for seating last-minute passengers together.

She said: “Towards the end of the flight, the mother explained to me that her husband bought discount tickets for spring break where Delta does not allow seat selection 24-hours prior to boarding.

“Why don’t they let families sit together?

“Had I known her husband was on the flight, I would have gladly traded with him and spared myself this painful injury and hellish nightmare.”

Sally alleges that she now has cartilage damage as a result of the sustained kicking.

She added: “I am hurting on my chest from my sternum to my right rib cage.

“It is visible asymmetry of my rib cage. My doctor assured me cartilage will heal but be painful for the next week.”

She is now calling for a change of policy regarding seat selection for families booking last minute discounted seats.

A Delta customer services employee has now got in contact with Sally to apologise for the incident and revealed that her claim will be sent to their insurer for investigation.

They have also confirmed that they have forwarded her thoughts on seating options for families to their leadership team for internal review.

A spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: “We regret to learn of the experience and discomfort described by this customer on a recent flight.

“We are in direct contact with this customer while we gather more information about the situation.”