A furious woman has posted pictures of a stranger who put their bare feet up on her armrest for the entire duration of her flight.
The passenger, identified only as Wu, wrote on Chinese social media site Weibo that she was on a four-and-a-half-hour AirAsia flight from Bangkok to Xi’an when the passenger behind her began her breach of airline etiquette.
According to the Beijing Youth Daily, Ms Wu said the unidentified passenger immediately removed her shoes and socks once in her seat and put her feet up on the armrest in front of her.
She had intended to sleep on the early morning flight, but said she could not because of the stranger’s feet.
Ms Wu wrote: “They draped over my arm, I couldn’t eat or drink and became constrained during the voyage.”
She said the woman got up to go to the toilet at one point, allowing Ms Wu some relief, but put her feet back up as soon as she got back.
Frustrated, Ms Wu said complained of the situation to a flight attendant, who apologised but declined to help because “they are all Chinese”, claims Ms Wu.
She said the hostess suggested she should deal with the problem personally. When asked why she did not, Ms Wu reportedly said she was afraid she would be yelled at.
She said: “The passenger was travelling with a huge group of middle-aged women just like her. We were only two, and I was afraid my comments would cause an argument.”
Ms Wu took pictures of the offender and posted them on Weibo, but said she wasn’t expecting them to become a topic of discussion.
“I didn’t report the case to the airline either, because I just thought it was water under the bridge,” she told the newspaper. “I hope the photos will remind others to be more disciplined in the future, and remember to show more consideration for others.”
The incident follows a string of bad behaviour by Chinese passengers on flights this year, including a man attempting to light a fire on a Shenzhen Airlines plane, passengers opening emergency exit doors and one woman scalding a flight attendant with a cup of hot water and noodles.
