Plane Passenger Allegedly 'Demanded Preboarding' Due to Injury, But Got Surprise When He Tried to Sit in Exit Row

Mar. 15, 2025

Male passenger in smart casual clothing flying in the exit row on an airplane.Photo:Alexander Spatari/Getty

Alexander Spatari/Getty

A plane passenger who demanded early boarding and then broke protocol once on board got a harsh reality check, according to a fellow flyer.

A traveler who was flying from Pittsburgh to Chicago on Tuesday, Dec. 17 recounted a scene he believes was justice served for poor airplane etiquette onReddit.

When the flight attendant confronted the injured passenger about this, the poster writes, the “dude changes his tune and indignantly insists he’s fine and can sit in the exit row after all.”

In the end, he didn’t get his way.. The gate attendant stuck to the rules and ended up making the passenger relocate.

“His wife sat in her original seat in the exit row and he got a middle seat in the back,” said the OP.

Passengers boarding a US Airways flight.Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty

Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty

Per the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) official site: “You must be physically capable and willing to perform emergency actions when seated in emergency or exit rows. If you are not, ask for another seat.”

“Good on the GA [gate agent] for enforcing rules,” said one user.

“Sounds like the GA earned her wings that day,” commented another person.

“Congrats to the gate agent on their win.” praised another user.

One user echoed the situation and shared their very similar experience involving a fellow passenger who tried to sit in the exit row after saying they needed special assistance.

“I’ve seen this happen too. A very tall elderly man (with wife) tried to preboard as handicapped but they were in the exit row,” the user recalled. “The GA told them that handicapped people could not sit in an exit row. They said ‘Oh, we’ll just board with our group.’ Nope. No exit row for them.”

The redditor who shard the original story chose not to get involved in the disagreement and let the flight crew do their job, something that travel expert, writer and advisorNicole Campoy Jacksonsays was the right move.

Jackson previously offered PEOPLE valuable advice aboutproper etiquette when it comes to swapping seats. She also urges travelers to always communicate with a flight attendant versus taking a dispute into their own hands.

“I am always in the camp of getting a flight attendant involved for sticky in-flight situations,” she said. “Tensions run high when we’re traveling, plus they would know, for example, if there was another seat or another solution to this problem. They have more context than we, the passengers, do.”

source: people.com