Airline adds couple to ‘no-fly’ list after seat reclining row

The woman said her seat was shaken and she was called ‘mainland girl’ after refusing to straighten her seat

Cathay Pacific said the couple has been banned from the airline following the woman’s video going viral on social media (Getty Images)

Cathay Pacific has banned a couple from flying with them ever again after a row broke out with passenger over a reclining plane seat.

The Hong Kong-based airline revealed on Saturday that the couple had been added to their no-fly list, adding it has a “strict zero-tolerance policy” towards behaviours that disrespected other passengers, the BBC reported.

A Chinese woman posted on the social media platform Xiaohongshu, speaking out about her alleged experience with the couple on a flight from Hong Kong to London on 17 September.

In her post, the woman stated that a middle-aged couple had accused her of obstructing their view of the in-flight television while onboard a Cathay aircraft and asked her if she could straighten her seat.

When the woman refused, she claimed that the wife then stretched her legs out, putting them on the armrest of her seat, before starting to speak to her in Cantonese, cursing and slapping her arm.

"When she realised I couldn’t speak Cantonese, she started calling me ‘mainland girl’ in a derogatory tone," she said, according to the BBC.

The woman went on to claim that the husband, who was seated directly behind her, “frantically pushed” the back of her seat. A clip on social media shows the chair vibrating as the man’s arms lay over the back of it. Another clip showed the wife raising her middle finger on the woman.

She said that she then sought assistance from a flight attendant, who suggested that she straighten her seat.

"I was shocked because it was not meal time, yet the flight attendant wanted me to compromise," the woman said. "I rejected the suggestion.

“After some passengers spoke up for me, the flight attendant finally said I could switch seats. I felt it was absurd—what if no one had backed me up? Would I have just been left to deal with it on my own?”

Cathay Pacific said in a statement that it wanted to “sincerely apologise” for the “unpleasant experience”.

“We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any behaviour that violates aviation safety regulations or disrespects the rights of other customers,” the airline said, according to CNN .

“We will deny future travel on any Cathay Group flights to the two customers involved in this incident.”

The woman later posted a follow-up video in which she said she thought the incident was “an isolated case and a personal issue; it doesn’t need to be blown out of proportion”, CNN reported.

“Whether on the plane or online, many Hong Kongers came to help and support me. There are still plenty of nice people in this world!” she added.

The woman’s post had been liked over 194,000 times as of Monday morning, causing many social media users to debate the etiquette of reclining your seat on planes.

Another woman also sparked online debate earlier this year after she took to social media asking her followers for advice over whether she should recline her seat back up at the request of another passenger.

“Y’all, 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,” TikToker Taylor wrote on a video that gained four million views.

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