Delta passenger flies from the Caribbean to the U.S. Then a bathroom dispute with her seatmate spirals—until she’s threatened with the no-fly list
Personal space on flights is scarce. More often than not, a stranger will encroach on it somehow, even if they don’t mean to.
After all, the average economy plane seat can nowadays be as narrow as 16.5 inches, while legroom averages around 35 inches. Experts say air travelers have lost 2 to 5 inches of legroom and 2 inches of seat width since the 1980s.
While there are some basic etiquette standards most air travelers follow, once in a while, you’ll encounter someone who doesn’t seem to bother with them at all.
That recently happened to TikToker Jia (@jia_yaps), who says not only had to deal with a rude passenger but also allegedly received a warning from Delta Airlines staff.
What Happened During the Delta Flight?
In a storytime video that has garnered over 141,600 views, Jia explains that she was traveling from the Caribbean to the U.S. when it all went down.
“Delta threatened to put me on the no-fly list because a white man lied on me and said that I threatened his life,” she begins.
She says she was in the aisle seat, while the passenger next to her had booked both the window and middle seats.
Then comes the first offense. “As soon as we’re stable in the sky, he takes his shoes off,” she says, “and puts his socks, which have holes in them, onto the middle seat with his feet up against the armrest that’s near my arm.”
That’s not the part that bothered her, though; it’s the frequent bathroom trips. She says he asked her to get up the first time so he could get out of the seat, but the second time, half an hour later, he didn’t even bother to ask. “He just, like, tries to scoot his butt across me,” she says.
One hour into the flight, she says the man gets up to use the bathroom again. “I was like, ‘Hey, maybe you should have booked an aisle seat,” she recounts telling him. “I’m wondering if he has some kind of digestive problem, but he hasn’t said anything about that.”
Jia also describes the passenger “pestering” the flight attendants about booking an Amtrak ticket to New York during drink service.
At this point, it had been around three hours into the flight, when she says the man asked to use the bathroom for the fifth time. This time, she reacted by rolling her eyes and sighing.
The Man Doesn’t Take It Well
“And then he explodes at me,” she recounts. “He’s like, ‘You didn’t have to get so mad just because I’m going to the bathroom.’”
Jia responded by telling him he shouldn’t be going to the bathroom “five or six times over the course of three hours.”
The man then got up and talked to a flight attendant, and she moved him to another seat in the back, where he allegedly got the full row to himself.
Jia says she thought it was over, but then she noticed “brownish red streaks” on the seat he had been sitting in. “I don’t know what they are,” she says, “but I file that away in my mind when I get off of the plane.”
Delta Staff Issues Her a Warning
“You’ve been notified that you were behaving disruptively on the flight and that you threatened someone’s life,” she remembers a staff member saying. “Other passengers have confirmed that this is exactly what happened.”
Jia says the staff member even told her this can have more serious consequences. “You could be put on the no-fly list for this,” she was allegedly told.
“I’ve been a loyal customer for 15 years,” Jia remembers telling the staff member. “Do you wanna trust me, or the guy who left poop streaks on his seat?”
The staff member didn’t budge, saying the warning would be put on her account and profile.
She concludes with a message directly to Delta. “If you take away any of my miles and you trust this white man whose fragile ego couldn’t take the fact that an Asian girl didn’t wanna stand up for him every 20, 30 minutes so that he could go to the bathroom and then stand up 5 minutes later again after that, after he’s done peeing, I will find other airlines to fly with,” she says.
Jia hasn’t shared an update about any changes to her Delta account. We’ve reached out to her via email for comment and more information.
What Are the Basic Bathroom Etiquette Rules?
Of course, listening to your body doesn’t stop because you’re on a plane. If you have a medical condition or any other reason that causes you to use the bathroom frequently, flight attendants can sometimes accommodate you by adjusting your seating.
In situations like that, seatmates are expected to be understanding if no seat changes can be made.
That said, if you know ahead of time that you’ll need frequent access to the bathroom, it’s a good idea to book an aisle seat for you and your seatmate’s comfort.
@jia_yaps not him walking all over the plane bathroom in his socks and then putting his feet on my armrest #travel #storytime #asiangirl ♬ original sound – dr. jia YT: jia_yaps
The Mary Sue contacted Delta Airlines for an official comment.
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