Plane Passenger Says Seatmate Refused to Stand When He Went to Bathroom, Then Complained About 'Personal Space'
The traveler, who describes himself as a "big dude," claims his "passive aggressive" seatmate confronted him at the end of the flight
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An airplane passenger is detailing what he calls a “passive aggressive” encounter with his seatmate during a recent flight — but who's in the wrong?
The flyer, who referred to himself as a “big dude,” explained he specifically chose a window seat to be more comfortable on the long journey in a retelling of the incident on Reddit. While he says his neighbor appeared “nice” at first, the situation got “tricky” when he needed to use the bathroom.
“Nature called a couple of times during the flight, and let's just say squeezing by in that cramped space is an exercise in contortionism at the best of times,” he writes. “The woman in the middle seat politely refused to get up whenever I needed to use the restroom.”
Meanwhile, he says his neighbor in the aisle seat “was very accommodating and would get up any time either I or the lady in the middle needed to get up.”
Related: You Actually Should Stand Up ASAP When the Plane Lands, Says Travel Expert: Here's Why (Exclusive)
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Passengers sitting down on an airplaneHe continues, ”Now, I get it. Nobody wants some sweaty dude brushing past them. I tried my best to minimize contact, literally sucked in my gut and held my breath like I was underwater. But even with all the contorting, there was some unavoidable brushing past.”
Tensions started to rise when his seatmate made a “passive aggressive comment about personal space and how uncomfortable I made her feel throughout the flight,” the passenger claims.
“Honestly, I felt terrible,” he admits. “Didn't mean to make her feel that way, but what else was I supposed to do? Hold it for 8 hours? Ask her to physically get up? (Since she repeatedly didn't get up and indicated I should squeeze by, I had no reason to think she was too bothered by it.)”
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After asking his fellow Redditors whether he was in the wrong in this situation, many users had his back.
“You’re nicer than me,” one person wrote, “My response would have been: “Ma’am you refused to get up, so my only options were to either encroach on your personal space or pee on you. I’m sorry you feel I chose the wrong option.”
Echoing a similar sentiment, another added, “If you pick anything other than a window seat on a plane, you have to be prepared to get up. That's the unfortunate reality of modern planes.”
One user agreed with the middle seat passenger about refusing to get up, however, they say they’re aware it comes with a price.
“I hate having to get up during flights so I just move out of the way and I understand by doing so people will be in my bubble,” they wrote. “I had a man legit crawl over me while I slept. It happens.”
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Passenger calling for a flight attendantPEOPLE previously turned to travel expert Nicole Campoy Jackson to weigh in on the common travel etiquette issue.
“In my opinion, aisle seat passengers should expect to be woken up at some point on any flight by their row-mates. It's a given. When you're the window seat passenger, a few gentle taps and an 'excuse me' hopefully do the trick. If not, a nudge and a louder ‘excuse me.’”
She adds, “If you're still stuck and the aisle seat passenger is truly conked out, that may be a good time to press the flight attendant call button and ask for help.”
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Jackson notes that it’s important to be mindful of your fellow passengers while exiting the row.
“Instead of leaning on the back of the passenger's seat in front of you for balance as you get out, lean back onto your own seat as then no one is bothered or shifted around by that,” she advises.
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