Virgin passenger called out over 'disgusting' act on flight to Melbourne

A frustrated plane passenger has shared her infuriating gripe online after flying Virgin Australia from Sydney to Melbourne on Monday.

Posting to Reddit, the anonymous woman said she was sitting in the middle seat which "already sucks enough," but it was made worse by another passenger encroaching on her space.

"My Syd to Mel flight just now. She’s in the aisle seat. She pushed my arm off the armrest and plopped her feet in my space," she wrote on the social media platform.

An accompanying image shows the woman squeezed in between two others. The sandal-wearing foot belonging to the offending passenger flops across the back of the middle seat, stopping the woman from stretching out her legs.

Post leaves people 'shaking with rage'

Others online didn't react too kindly to the woman's feet positioning and armrest hogging with one person saying they were "shaking with rage" at the sight.

A heated debate ensued regarding armrests on a plane, and who has the right to what while flying.

"Window gets an armrest and a wall. Middle gets two armrests. Aisle gets an armrest and a little bit of extra leg," one concluded, adding: "We're not animals! We live in a society!"

Dozens more agreed and urged the passenger to "speak up" and "take that armrest back."

"Push her arm off & tell her 'middle seat gets both arm rests because middle sucks & get your disgusting feet out of my space'," one said.

As for the foot, some suggested "playing footsies" to send a subtle hint in the hope she realises and moves her leg.

Others were a little more aggressive in their approach and said to "accidentally kick her." While some urged the woman to visit the bathroom repeatedly just to annoy the other passenger.

One urged the passenger to tell the woman to get her "disgusting feet" out of her space.

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Woman reveals how she 'got armrest back'

After arriving in Melbourne, the original poster revealed what went down on the flight as Reddit users requested an update.

"I politely asked her to move her leg and she did, I also got my armrest back," she revealed.

"I just thought it was awfully ballsy of her to push my arm off and put her foot in my space in the first place."

Flight attendant settles armrest debate

The question of who gets the middle armrest has long been a debate and one that's completely divided the masses.

But speaking to Yahoo News Australia in 2019, a Qantas flight attendant, with more than 30 years of experience, set the record straight.

"Nobody has ownership over an armrest. They are a mutual space," she said, explaining there are four armrests shared between three seats.

And while airline staff are well-trained in diffusing any mid-air disagreements, no such protocol exists when it comes to an armrest feud, and instead "most people figure it out themselves".

"If the plane is packed they have to just share but if there were spare seats, [flight attendants] would move passengers around to give everyone as much space as possible," she added.

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