30.10.2026 08:20
In Malaysia, a woman got into an argument with cabin crew when she sat in the empty seat next to her husband on a plane. The argument escalated when the people she was traveling with also supported the woman, who refused to pay an extra charge for seat selection. In the incident, in which security officers intervened, all passengers were disembarked from the plane and the flight was delayed.
The incident in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, caused a flight to be delayed. A woman boarding an AirAsia plane wanted to sit in an empty seat next to her husband instead of the seat allocated to her.
SHE SAT IN THE EMPTY SEAT NEXT TO HER HUSBAND
According to reports in the local press, when the woman boarded the plane she saw that the seat next to her husband was empty and sat there. However, that seat had not been allocated to her.
The cabin crew noticed the situation and asked the woman to return to the seat indicated on her ticket or to pay the seat selection fee in order to sit next to her husband.
"I SAT IN AN EMPTY SEAT, WHICH RULE DID I BREAK?"
The woman objected to the crew's request, stating that she had only sat in the empty seat next to her husband. In footage recorded during the incident, the woman was seen questioning which rule her action violated.
Other people traveling with the couple also joined the argument. Members of the group of six argued that it was normal for them to want to sit together and questioned why they should have to pay an extra fee for this.
During the argument, one person from the group was reported to have turned to the other passengers and called out, "Are you not Chinese? Don't you know what is going on?"
SECURITY INTERVENED WHEN THE ARGUMENT ESCALATED
When the dispute could not be resolved despite the cabin crew's warnings, security officers were called onto the plane. As the argument escalated, it was decided that all passengers on the plane should be removed from the aircraft. Due to the incident, the flight could not take place at its scheduled time.
AN EXTRA FEE IS CHARGED FOR SEAT SELECTION
According to AirAsia's seat selection rules, passengers must pay an extra fee when they want to choose a specific seat while purchasing a ticket, during online check-in, or at the airport.
Passengers can reserve a seat through the company's app or website up to two hours before the scheduled departure time.