Here is your mission, should you choose to accept it: you have to get from point A to point B in an aeroplane without causing an international incident or inspiring a viral TikTok about what an entitled nitwit you are. Sounds simple, right? Apparently, it isn’t. About 76.9% of the general population, extensive analysis has led me to believe, seem to find this mission impossible.
You may have also noticed this phenomenon. It’s hard not to: there is a constant stream of headlines about airline passengers exhibiting sky-high entitlement. For example, earlier this month, a United Airlines flight from Houston to Amsterdam was diverted to Chicago after a business class passenger became unruly. The reason? Their first choice of meal was unavailable. Authorities should have diverted the plane to The Hague, if you ask me. Having to deal with the ignominy of being served chicken instead of beef? It may sound paltry to unrefined ears, but if you’ve paid almost $7,000 for your ticket, it’s a veritable crime against humanity.
Around the same time Mealgate happened, a passenger on American Airlines caused a scene – and inspired countless memes – after ranting that one of her fellow passengers was “not real” and everyone on the plane would “die” if they remained on board.
For every in-flight incident that makes international headlines there are countless other examples of bad airline etiquette that inspire viral social media posts. Feet come up regularly. I mean that literally: a bizarre number of people seem to think it’s OK to put their bare feet in the vicinity of other people.
Another weird thing that people seem to think is acceptable is pretending you need a wheelchair when you don’t. So called “miracle flights” – where a large number of people get on the flight with wheelchair assistance and then embark independently – have been a phenomenon for a while. TikTok has given this horrible hack new momentum. Last year, a TikTok user flew from Ibiza to Bristol and shared a video of themselves faking a leg injury so they could be given a wheelchair and board the plane faster, sparking a trend of people faking injuries.
Forget feet or wheelchairs, though. The most contentious in-flight issue seems to be the etiquette of switching seats. Pretty much every couple of weeks someone seems to make a TikTok about how a passenger in a middle seat – it’s almost always a middle seat – demanded that they switch places so they could sit next to their child, spouse, friend or emotional support guinea pig. Or someone goes viral for an outraged post about how a selfish passenger didn’t let them switch seats so they could sit next to their child, spouse, friend or emotional support guinea pig.
Earlier this year, for example, a passenger on a Virgin Australia flight started an online debate after posting a rant about how he wanted to slap a man who refused to switch seats so he could sit by his wife. Around the same time, an American TikTok user, Surya Garg, went viral after she refused to give up her window seat so that a mother and teenager (who Garg described as a “6ft-5 man”) could sit together. Garg understandably said no. This didn’t go down well: Garg alleges that the woman muttered profanities at her from the middle seat for the rest of the flight.
The most recent example of the “should you switch seats” debate comes via a Delta Air Lines flight from Cincinnati, Ohio, to San Jose, California. Last week, Tammy Nelson, the CEO of a jewellery company, posted a viral TikTok describing how she had refused to swap seats with a woman who wanted to sit next to her two children. Pretty much everyone online sided with Tammy.
Since the question of whether it’s OK to ask fellow passengers to switch seats with you seems to come up with alarming regularity, I’d like to make a little public service announcement. No, it’s almost never OK. If the airline messed up and seated a toddler far away from their parents then the parents are justified in asking people to switch seats. But if you’re not seated next to your spouse or your friend on a flight? Then suck it up and have a big reunion when you land. You can deal with it, I promise! Strap on your seatbelt, put on your headphones, mind your own business and enjoy your flight.
• Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
