- Do you know the people involved? Send an email to miriam.kuepper@mailonline.co.uk
This is the shocking moment a couple kicks a fellow passenger’s seat when she reclines hers, blocking their view of the plane’s television.
Footage shows a middle-aged couple asking the woman to move her seat on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to London on September 17 because it was blocking their view of the screen. The passenger refuses.
The woman then put her legs on the armrests of the woman’s chair, before hitting her on the arm and cursing at her in Cantonese, according to the Chinese woman, who shared footage of the incident online.
The husband, who was sitting directly behind the woman, also used force, reportedly pushing the back of her seat in a “panic.” Video shows her plane seat shaking.
The woman was also captured on video giving the woman her middle finger.
Footage shows the middle-aged couple (pictured) asking the woman to move her seat upright on the Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to London on September 17 because it was blocking their view of the screen, but the passenger refused.
The woman then put her legs on the armrests of the woman’s chair, before hitting her on the arm and cursing at her in Cantonese, according to the Chinese woman (pictured), who shared footage of the incident online
The husband, who was sitting directly behind the woman, also resorted to violence as he reportedly pushed the back of her seat “in a hurry” as video shows her plane seat shaking
“When she noticed I didn’t speak Cantonese, she started calling me ‘mainland girl’ in a derogatory tone,” the native Mandarin speaker added, according to Chinese media.
The passenger said she called a flight attendant for help but was disappointed when the flight attendant suggested she move her seat to accommodate the Hong Kong couple.
She added that she rejected the flight attendant’s request for a compromise.
The airline said on Sunday it had added the couple to its no-fly list, the BBC.
The video, which the woman shared on the social media platform Xiaohongshu, attracted a lot of attention and people criticized the couple for their behavior.
The woman also spoke about the incident in an interview with a Chinese TV channel, saying how touched she was by the other passengers who stood up for her when the couple harassed her.
‘When the first person spoke, tears came to my eyes.
“I felt a deep sense of injustice, but also relief that someone understood me and stood up for me. In addition, there were many Hong Kongers who helped me,” she said, according to local media.
Airline Cathay Pacific told MailOnline in a statement: ‘Cathay Pacific is aware of an incident where a customer was verbally abused by two other disruptive customers on board flight CX253 on 17 September 2024.
‘The safety and well-being of our customers and crew are our highest priorities. We have a strict zero tolerance policy towards any behaviour that jeopardises aviation safety or shows disrespect to other customers.
‘Our investigation into the incident revealed that the aforementioned customers got into an argument during the flight about the reclining of their seats, which resulted in the two disruptive customers verbally abusing the customer in the row in front of them. Despite several mediation attempts by our cabin crew, the disruptive behavior of the two individuals continued.
‘To resolve the situation, the affected customer was moved to a seat in the Premium Economy cabin, as there were no other seats available in the Economy cabin.
‘Our Inflight Service Manager subsequently 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 all Cathay Group flights in the future.
“Cathay Pacific is committed to ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for all customers. We sincerely apologize to those affected by this incident.”