A plane was forced to make an emergency landing after a passenger reportedly demanded to swap seats to be sat next to his girlfriend.
The man is said to have made complaints during the boarding process and continued to be aggressive when the Spring Airlines flight took off from Narita International Airport in Japan, according to MailOnline.
When the passenger’s request to swap seats was refused, airline crew explained that he would have to stay where he was for the three-hour flight. It is not clear why the couple did not book seats next to each other.
The man continued to argue with flight attendants for almost two hours after take-off, MailOnline reported.
Footage shows multiple cabin crew members trying to deal with the situation before the flight was eventually redirected, at around 9pm on Monday.
The disruption forced the pilot to notify Japanese authorities and he was forced to take a U-Turn back to Narita International Airport.
The man was removed by police when the delayed and disrupted flight landed back at Narita at 11pm.
“There was no prior announcement or discussion about the situation,” one witness said. “We only heard an announcement stating that the flight was turning back due to a person obstructing the crew.
“At that point, we were only around 30 minutes away from landing in Shanghai. It was very frustrating. He could have settled down so everybody could reach their destination.”
Spring Airlines’ information page on seat selection says the company offers a variety of seating options including ‘Party Seats’ to allow passengers to sit with friends or family, ‘Hot Seats’ for easy seat access, ‘Space Seats’ for more legroom, and VIP seats with 39 inches of leg room.
The Independent has contacted Spring Airlines for comment.
Regardless of the reason, swapping seats after takeoff can be dangerous according to former Virgin Atlantic captain and YouTuber “Pete the Irish Pilot”.
He previously told The Independent that passengers shifting from one part of the airplane to another could make it behave in unpredictably dangerous ways during take-off and landing.
“To start moving seats, especially in significant numbers, to unplanned areas, could significantly impact the aircraft's balance,” he said. “If everyone were to sit at the front of the aircraft, it could make getting off the deck harder compared to the norm, or even, in some cases, impossible.
“Conversely, everyone sitting in the back end might cause the aircraft to tip on its tail on take-off or encounter a tail scrape on touchdown.”
