Chinese public outraged after woman threatens passenger over window seat on flight

In a video of the incident, which was shared on social media platforms and quickly caused outrage across the country, a woman, whose identity is unknown, arrived at her seat on the flight from Qingdao to Shenyang only to find that it was occupied by an older woman who told her: “Since you are young, you should favor my interest,” leading to a dispute, reported the South China Morning Post earlier this week.

An elderly woman verbally abuses a younger passenger as the latter refuses to give her the window seat. Photo from k0pinions’ TikTok

A male flight attendant then approached and offered to arrange another seat for the older woman warning the younger woman: “Stop quarreling, otherwise you will be accused of interfering with a public function.”

According to the young woman, the older woman and her husband also threatened to vomit on her and physically assault her.

The video prompted Chinese social media users to show their disbelief and anger, with the majority criticizing the elderly woman and flight attendant.

Jiangxi Airlines had to step in, saying it had solved the situation in accordance with aviation regulations and arranged another seat for the older woman to avoid the escalate the argument, which could affect the flight departure.