One Passenger's Poor Airplane Etiquette Caused A Big Stir That Could've Been Avoided

If there is one thing that is going to cause a stir on the internet, it's people behaving rudely on an airplane. From fights over assigned seating to passengers getting arrested, the Internet loves airplane drama. It's almost addictive. You watch what you perceive to be a ridiculous scenario play out on your screen and shake your head wondering how people could behave that way. You may even find yourself wondering what you would do if you were in the exact situation.

One recent breach of airplane etiquette caused a stir on social media for good reason. A passenger shared their confrontation with another passenger on a now deleted viral post on the infamous r/AITA subreddit. The poster, who had a seat toward the front of the plane, couldn't find empty overhead cabin space for their carry-on luggage. They came upon a cabin a few rows back where another passenger had placed a pair of shoes. When they asked the owner of the shoes to move them, he refused. The poster proceeded to remove the shoes anyways and placed his bag in the spot. The other passenger got angry and began to yell, hurling crude insults. The poster ignored him, thinking that was the end of that interaction.

However, at the end of the flight, the poster found that the other passenger had gotten his revenge by moving the poster's bag and hiding it a few rows down. This led to another verbal altercation between the two. It was a petty move on that passenger's part, but some Redditors think the situation could have been handled differently.

There are plenty of unspoken airplane etiquette rules you might not be aware of. Breaking them is a small mistake that should not be made into a huge deal. However, there are plenty of airplane rules that are spoken, usually by flight attendants or pilots, that passengers are reminded of multiple times. The situation in the Reddit post falls into the latter category. Typically, overhead cabin space is limited, so they are reserved for carry-on bags. Everything else should be kept under the seat in front of you. Netizens generally agree that by putting his shoes in the bin space, the passenger in the Reddit post violated that rule and the poster had every right to be annoyed. However, the poster's airplane etiquette blunder sparked a debate among social media users.

"There is ALWAYS some TA who puts things that don't belong in the bin up there," said Reddit user @Frosty-Business-6042. "But the moment you touched his things, you opened yourself up for him to touch yours." Other commenters, while sympathizing with the original poster, agreed that they should have told a flight attendant about the situation instead of taking matters into their own hands. Flight attendants have the training and authority to deal with difficult situations without them evolving into a bigger conflict.