The Flight Fight: Passengers Into Fist Fight Over Reclined Seat

In a weird incident, a passenger in a Bangkok-India fight was assaulted by a fellow passenger over reclined seat during take-off.

On a flight of Thai Smile Airways from Bangkok to Kolkata, a passenger refused to follow the cabin crew’s safety instructions. He did not want to adjust the seat to the upright position for take-off, a standard safety procedure also followed on domestic flights. He refused to do so saying he has a backache.

The cabin crew repeatedly requested the passenger and explained the reason for the need for seats in upright positions. It makes evacuation difficult in case of emergency. The passenger did not comply and remained seated with his seat reclined. He even said they could complain to the captain but would not adjust the seat. Soon, the other fliers started complaining and one of them got into an argument with him that soon turned into an assault.

One of the other fliers rained punches on the passenger while the latter did not hit back but was seen defending himself in the viral video. Later the cabin crew stopped the assault and made all the passengers sit in their respective seats. The aircraft left for Kolkata but was delayed. The airline said in its reports that no passenger was seriously injured in the incident and none of the fliers involved were served alcoholic drinks on the flight.