International travellers are expressing their outrage over a new trend dubbed “seat squatting”.
This phenomenon involves passengers occupying unassigned seats, often disregarding the instructions of cabin crew and not waiting until boarding is complete. Content creator Shannon Ella shared her exasperation in a viral TikTok video after encountering another passenger who took her seat and stubbornly refused to budge.
She questioned her followers: “Is that a thing that people are doing on planes now? They just sit in your seat and just go like, ‘No, it’s mine, I sat there first so minesies? ‘” It appears this wasn’t a one-off event, as many other TikTokers have shared similar experiences of seat poaching.
In one case, a mother with two young children was confronted by a squatter in their seats. Without any delay, she handed the children to the squatter, prompting them to vacate the spot promptly.
Cabin crews are thankfully intervening to resolve these issues. Olivia, a flight attendant, commented: “I’m a flight attendant and once a passenger says someone is in my seat, I 100 percent make them move to their assigned seat.”
Stories of “seat squatters” wreaking havoc on flights are rampant across Reddit forums, reports the Mirror.
One passenger shared their experience of witnessing three separate incidents, stating: “First was a guy that was supposed to be in 28C who was all the way up in 12B and was trying to argue it was his seat,” and “the next was a lady in 18A who was being adamant with the seat holder that she needed to be by the window and not in the middle”, according to Wales Online.
They added: “The next was a couple that was supposed to be in 24C and D and decided to camp out and plant their flag in 24A and B.”
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