Airline bans couple for life for hassling passenger who reclined their seat

A couple has been banned from Cathay Pacific airlines after kicking a fellow passengers seat after she reclined her chair.

An upset passenger took to social media, sharing a video, after a couple started to kick the back of her seat after she reclined her chair and consequently blocked their view of the in-flight television.

The incident, which occurred on a flight travelling from Hong Kong to London, UK, on September 17, escalated after a middle-aged husband and wife asked the woman to straighten her seat as it blocked their view of the screen which was in the back of her seat, but she refused.

The wife then protested by putting her legs on the armrests of the woman's seat, before slapping her arm and telling her off in Cantonese, according to the Chinese woman, who shared footage of the incident online.

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The husband, who was sat directly behind the woman, also became violent as he "frantically pushed" the back of her seat, which can be seen in the video the woman shared on social media. The wife was also caught in video lifting her middle finger towards the woman.

"When she realised I couldn't speak Cantonese, she started calling me 'mainland girl' in a derogatory tone," the native Mandarin speaker stated, according to Chinese media. The passenger said she called over a flight attendant for help, but was let down when the staff member suggested that she straighten her seat to appease the couple from Hong Kong.

She added that she rejected the flight attendant's advice. The airline said on Sunday that it had added the couple to its no-fly list, according to the BBC. The woman was also interviewed by a Chinese TV outlet and told them how moved she was by other passengers who stood up for her.

"When the first person spoke up, tears welled up in my eyes. I felt a deep sense of injustice, but also a relief that someone understood and spoke up for me, including a lot of Hongkongers who helped me," she said.

Cathay Pacific airlines told MailOnline in a statement: "Cathay Pacific is aware of the incident involving a customer who was verbally harassed by two other disruptive customers onboard flight CX253 on 17 September 2024. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew are our highest priorities. We maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that compromises aviation safety or disrespects fellow customers.

"Our investigation into the incident found that during the flight, the aforementioned customers engaged in a dispute over seat reclining, which resulted in the two disruptive customers verbally harassing the customer in the row in front of them. Despite several mediation attempts by our cabin crew, the two individuals' disruptive behaviour continued.

"In an effort to address the situation, the affected customer was moved to a seat in the Premium Economy cabin due to there being no other available seats in the Economy cabin. Our Inflight Service Manager then issued two serious verbal warnings to the disruptive individuals involved. In accordance with our 'General Conditions of Carriage for Passengers and Baggage,' they will be refused carriage on any Cathay Group flights in the future.

"Cathay Pacific is committed to ensuring a safe and pleasant experience for all customers. We extend our sincerest apologies to those affected by this incident."