An American traveler’s decision to recline his seat during a flight to Germany has triggered a heated debate over airplane etiquette.
Mark Roberts, who has more than 1.5 million followers on TikTok, shared the uncomfortable encounter in a video posted to the platform.
Speaking from his hotel room in Europe, Roberts opened the clip by saying: ‘I don’t know who needs to hear this, but clearly it needs to be said.
‘If you are on an airplane and you want to recline your seat, you do not have to ask permission from anyone.’
He explained that the disagreement began during the first leg of his trip, when another passenger objected to him reclining his seat.
‘We were an hour into the flight, we were up in the air, and they decided to dim the cabin lights to suggest taking a nap,’ Roberts said.
‘Thinking nothing of it, I started reclining my seat to get into nap position… I kid you not, as I am going backwards, I am met with this woman’s face standing over me from behind.’
According to Roberts, the woman told him he should have ‘asked permission’ and complained: ‘I don’t have much space back here.’
American traveler Mark Roberts sparked a heated debate after reclining his seat during a flight to Germany
Roberts said he suggested that she recline her own seat as well, prompting the passenger to let out a ‘huff.’
She then moved out of his view, while Roberts described the exchange as ‘frustrating… weird and annoying.’
The dispute continued when the unnamed passenger called over a flight attendant ‘less than five minutes later.’
She reportedly told the crew member that Roberts had reclined his seat.
‘I’m like, “Oh my God, she’s talking about me. She’s complaining about me.” But I keep my cool and I don’t say anything and I just listen,’ he recalled.
The flight attendant told the woman she ‘can’t do anything about it,’ before explaining: ‘He’s allowed to recline his seat.’
Roberts claimed that response caused the passenger to ‘throw a hissy fit.’
Trying to calm the situation, the crew member then approached Roberts and asked whether he would consider returning his seat to the upright position because the woman was ‘super uncomfortable.’
Roberts said the confrontation began during the first leg of his journey, when another passenger objected to his reclining seat (stock image)
Roberts asked, ‘Do I have to?’ When the attendant said he did not, he replied: ‘Well then I think I am going to stay reclined.’
The passenger was apparently unhappy with the decision, allegedly ‘throwing another hissy fit in German’ and ‘kicking his seat the entire rest of the flight.’
The video has since been viewed more than 99,500 times, prompting viewers to take sides in the argument.
Some supported Roberts, with one commenter writing: ‘If you want more space, you pay for a seat with more space.’
Another agreed, saying: ‘I feel like it wouldn’t be a feature if you weren’t supposed to use it?’
‘C’mon guys, you’re allowed to recline your seats. If you don’t want someone reclining in front of you, then sit at the front of the section.’
‘If you weren’t supposed to recline your seat, they wouldn’t make them reclinable,’ another person commented.
Others, however, sympathized with the unidentified passenger.
‘Well, imagine you got reclined on and you have zero space,’ one viewer wrote.
‘Yeah bro, you’re wrong for that,’ another said, while a third described the decision as ‘selfish as f**k.’
‘I’m on her side. It’s manners,’ another commenter added.
