Airline bans couple after heated seat recline incident

A couple was permanently banned from flying by a major airline after a heated argument over seat-recline etiquette, according to CNN.

Cathay Pacific, a Hong Kong-based airline, has banned two passengers from its flights following an incident on a flight from Hong Kong to London on September 17 in which a passenger from mainland China posted a video of the experience on Xiaohongshu, China had posted version of Instagram.

According to her report in Xiaohongshu, the incident occurred when the woman sitting behind her asked her to return her seat to an upright position because it was blocking her husband's view of the onboard television.

The passenger politely declined, which provoked an aggressive reaction from the woman behind her. “She started putting her feet on my armrest, kicking my arm and cursing me like crazy,” the passenger said.

A flight attendant then tried to intervene and suggested that the woman raise her seat, but the woman did not move.

“When she realized that my Cantonese wasn't that good, she started making some nasty comments, calling me a 'mainland girl' and using other derogatory terms,” ​​the passenger said.

In video footage of the incident, a voice in Mandarin can be heard criticizing the older woman and saying: “You're old enough – why are you bullying a young girl?”

The exchange highlighted cultural and linguistic differences, as Cantonese is predominantly spoken in Hong Kong, while Mandarin is the main language in mainland China.

The situation worsened when the aggressive passenger's husband became involved and reportedly pressed his hand on the armrest of the lying passenger and shook her. “I felt like my privacy was completely violated,” she said.

As the situation escalated, other passengers intervened and expressed their support for the lying passenger. Some shouted in Cantonese: “You are embarrassing us Hong Kongers!” and “Stop saying you are from Hong Kong!”

Finally, the flight attendant allowed the lying passenger to change seats after receiving assistance from fellow passengers.

In a statement released on Saturday, Cathay Pacific expressed its sincere apologies for the “unpleasant experience” and stressed that the company has a zero-tolerance policy for any behavior that violates aviation safety regulations or disrespects other customers.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy for any behavior that violates aviation safety regulations or disrespects the rights of other customers,” the statement said. “We will deny future travel on all Cathay Group flights to the two customers involved in this incident.”