Row over reclining seat on flight divides opinion – but who’s in the right?

A WOMAN has split opinion after a passenger told her not to recline her seat so she could use her laptop during a flight.

A TikTok user who goes by the name “leads.to.keys” shared her story while travelling on a six-hour flight.

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She said in the video: “So I recline my seat and the girl behind me IMMEDIATELY tells me that she can’t use her laptop if I recline (didn’t ask me to unrecline – more of a statement with the expectation.

“So I put the seat back to normal although I want it reclined for this six hour flight. Let it go?”

She did say there was a bright side, as the plane had a “pantry area with unlimited snacks”.

More than 620k people have watched the video but TikTok users were divided about who was in the right.

Some people agreed with her – one person said: “If the chair can recline, then you can. It’s ridiculous to think you have to stay uncomfortable based on what the joker behind you wants.”

Another person wrote: “Once had a tall bloke demand I didn’t recline on an overnight flight to St Lucia. No chance. Pay for extra legroom or don’t go.”

A flight attendant also chipped in calling it “petty,” adding: “They have the right to recline. You can recline too. You want everyone to accommodate you?”

However lots of people slammed the TikTok user, saying it wasn’t fair on the person behind her.

One person explained: “Reclining chairs shouldn’t be allowed in economy! It is just a pain for the person behind you (especially people who are tall and have long legs!”

A frequent flyer agreed: “I never recline my seat out of respect for those behind me. The recline doesn’t make much difference for you anyways.”

Someone else also said: “Lmao you don’t need to recline for a 6 hour flight. You will survive.”

Lots of people agreed that the only time to recline is during long night flights to sleep, but not for the rest of the flight.

In 2020, a passenger was left fuming when his Apple MacBook Pro was destroyed during a flight – after the person in front reclined their seat.

Etiquette experts have explained when you should recline your seat, and when you should not.

And experts have also revealed why you should never recline all the way back – as it’s not the best way to sleep.

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