The need for a person to take their socks off at home to be comfortable is understandable. But what about on a plane? One passenger found themselves in this "gross" predicament when their neighbor decided to go barefoot for the entire flight.
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An image of the scene was shared by in a viral post on Reddit user -kizza-. The post has had 17,000 upvotes since it was shared on June 2.
A caption shared with the post says: "Gave up my window seat for this guy's kid as he looked super happy about it and didn't have the heart to say 'no.' I get the middle seat in the middle isle and the dad does this all flight. Just gross."
The image shows the dad sitting with his knees up, with his bare feet against the back of the seat in front.
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Was it rude of this dad to go barefoot, especially after the poster's kind gesture of offering their window seat? Or was the poster overreacting?
Nick Leighton, etiquette expert and co-cost of the weekly podcast Were You Raised By Wolves?, told Newsweek: "Health and safety always trumps etiquette, so if there was a need for this passenger to be barefoot on this flight, then so be it. But that said, we generally want to keep our socks on in public. And airplanes are no exception."
In a June 2023 study conducted on behalf of the travel booking website Kayak, which asked 1,000 adults in the U.S. and Canada about how a person should behave when flying, those surveyed said, "You are not allowed to take off your socks" during a flight because 76 percent of travelers "prefer their vision free of toes."
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Passengers felt the same about shoes, saying, "You are not allowed to take off your shoes" because 56 percent of travelers think "there's a difference between a plane and a beach," according to the survey.
'Keep Our Feet Covered'
Leighton told Newsweek: "From the potential of odors to the cultural sensitivities of those from cultures where showing the soles of one's feet is particularly disrespectful, there are lots of reasons we want to keep our feet covered. Plus, you think those airplane carpets are shampooed between flights?"
Keeping your socks and shoes on during a flight is certainly advisable for hygiene reasons. The bathroom was found to be among the dirtiest places on planes and at airports in a study conducted by Travelmath, a travel information website.
Should the poster have confronted the dad about the issue with him being barefoot?
Leighton advised: "Whether or not to say something to a fellow passenger is a judgment call on how successful you think you'll be. Unfortunately, not everyone will receive a polite-yet-direct request to put socks on favorably.
"So, if you think you might be seated next to such a person, then your better bets are to either seek assistance from a flight attendant or just tough it out," he noted.
'Nightmare'
The viral post has sparked fury among Redditors, such as Choice_Blackberry406 who said: "OMG, I'm a super-smeller and this is quite literally my nightmare."
EggsceIlent noted: "I still never understand why airlines don't make one simple rule to eliminate this when you hear about it and see it posted a lot. Just tell passengers that shoes and clothing, except for like jackets, must stay on at all times. No exceptions. And be done with it. People that take shoes off on planes are nasty AF [as f***]."
Hot-Intention3258 noted: "Never accommodate for anyone. The risk to them f****** you over is way too high."
Caged-Swan22 said: "It infuriates me that people ask to swap seats on a flight, like they couldn't have booked a window seat in advance for the extra money. It infuriates me even more when people let them."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system.
A stock image of a man sitting on a plane next to a child who is in a window seat. A post about a dad on a plane who remained barefoot for an entire flight...A stock image of a man sitting on a plane next to a child who is in a window seat. A post about a dad on a plane who remained barefoot for an entire flight has gone viral on Reddit.iStock / Getty Images PlusDo you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
