Aviation Ministry Tells Passengers After Viral Video: 'Your Seat Is Not A Sleeper Berth'

Days after a video of a man punching a reclined seat on a flight in front of him went viral in the US, India's aviation ministry has asked passengers to be considerate towards other people's space. "A little bit of basic good manners and respect are always worth a thumbs up. Your seat is not a sleeper berth. Don't be inconsiderate of other people's space,” tweeted the Ministry Of Civil Aviation on Saturday. The tweet was shared under the ministry's campaign to promote responsible travelling and etiquettes of flying.

A little bit of basic good manners and respect are always worth a thumbs up.
Your seat is not a sleeper berth. Don't be inconsiderate of other people's space.#BeAResponsibleTraveller #EtiquettesOfFlying pic.twitter.com/K8N30wLZRd

— Ministry of Civil Aviation (@MoCA_GoI) February 22, 2020

On February 9, a passenger named Wendi Williams tweeted from her handle @steelersfanOG a video which shows that another passenger sitting behind her punched her seat repeatedly on an American Eagle, a subsidiary of American Airlines, flight.

“Here’s a great jackhole! He was angry that I reclined my seat and punched it about 9 times - HARD, at which point I began videoing him, and he resigned to this behaviour. The other jackhole is the AmericanAir flight attendant who reprimanded me and offered him (a complimentary) rum!”

@BravoAndy Here’s a great jackhole! He was angry that I reclined my seat and punched it about 9 times - HARD, at which point I began videoing him, and he resigned to this behavior. The other jackhole is the @AmericanAir flight attendant who reprimanded me and offered him rum! pic.twitter.com/dHeUysrKTu

— wendi (@steelersfanOG) February 9, 2020

Williams said when the man asked her to straighten the seat so that he could eat, she agreed. However, when she reclined the seat after he finished eating, it resulted in the punches from the co-passenger. As a reaction, Wendi decided to film the complete incident.

On an American Airlines enquiry, Wendi gave information about her flight and seat. She also revealed that she has lost time at work, and took several visits to doctor.

She also tweeted that she was injured, and that the incident caused pain.

"I have 1 cervical disk left that isn't fused," she wrote. "I've lost time at work, had to visit a doctor, got X-rays, and have has horrible headaches for a week."

“It is a good initiative by the ministry to tweet this. While reclining economy seats is an issue globally, our authorities must tackle something uniquely Indian — the habit of passengers to stand up as soon as the aircraft comes to a halt after landing. Our crew has to keep announcing during taxi to terminal, asking passengers to remain seated and not to open overhead bins to take out their bags as that could hurt other flyers,” Times of India quoted a senior pilot as saying.