A video about a woman on a plane who allegedly "shoved" another passenger's seat forward has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was shared in a post by @tfutchh and has had 2.8 million views since it was shared on February 16.
The footage shows a woman sitting on a plane and looking at the camera. A message overlaid on the screen says: "Ya'll this girl just shoved my seat forward and said I'm not allowed to recline for my 10 hour flight because it's too much for her. What do I do?"
A caption shared with the video says: "What would you do?"
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 you should behave when flying," those surveyed said you are "allowed to recline your seat" because 88 percent of travelers think "the button is there for a reason."
Battles over seat space on a plane is inevitable with air travel seeing continued strong growth in the post-COVID-19 era. Global air traffic in November 2023 was reported to be at 99.1 percent of November 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels, according to the latest report from the International Air Transport Association in January.
Apart from the inconvenience, not having enough personal space on a plane can have an impact on health, noted a 2019 study published in the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics.
The study, conducted among Spanish adult plane passengers, said: "The increase [in size and space] of economy class airline seats is necessary because immobility on airplane flights can develop different pathologies, such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism known as economy class syndrome.
"The increase in size (body mass and stature) and changing proportions of the human body over the past few decades should be considered in the ergonomic design of economy class airline seats," the study advised.
The results of the study suggest minimum legroom of about 27 inches and seat width of about 20 inches.
'Lean Way Back!'
The latest post has sparked a heated debate on TikTok, with several users saying that the original poster has every right to recline her seat.
JohnM said: "Lean way back!!"
Yasmine wrote: "Idk [I don't know] what everyone else is on about. Every long haul flight I have been on literally EVERYONE reclines. People only sit up when food comes."
Mina 🇰🇷 noted: "People in the comments act like the seats recline more than 3 inches. unless you also bought the seat in front of you, you don't have jurisdiction on how they use their seat????"
Drea.Bee.86 said: "The chairs barely recline to begin with I don't see why ppl get so mad . I've never cared when the person in front of me reclines!"
'Common Courtesy'
Others were hesitant about reclining seats, such as Lauren who said: "I won't even recline my seat in first class because I'm scared the person behind me will be mad."
VICTORIA VANDYKE noted: "ya i've been on a 14 hour flight and refuse to recline as a common courtesy even if the person in front of me reclines."
ES wrote: "I mean you can, it's your right.. but out of respect for others I don't. Plane seats are small enough."
JayL said: "I refuse to decline because my comfort isn't more important than the person's behind me."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
A stock image of a passengers on a plane. A video about a woman on a plane telling a passenger that she's "not allowed to recline" her seat has gone viral on TikTok. A stock image of a passengers on a plane. A video about a woman on a plane telling a passenger that she's "not allowed to recline" her seat has gone viral on TikTok. 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.
