A man trying to take a nap on a flight shared the problem with his plan, but social media was split on whether his concerns were justified.
TikTok user @thegringowiththetruck drew more than 675,000 views on a post in which he showed footage of a dark airplane cabin full of people who appeared to be sleeping or resting.
His camera, however, panned to the row next to his, where a passenger had their window wide open. Light poured in as the passenger looked outside, taking in the vista below.
“There’s always one entitled person who thinks their existence matters more than everyone else,” the poster wrote in the overlaid text, adding, “She was asked politely more than once to close it,” in the caption.
TikTok users were split on the poster’s assertion that the woman was being “entitled,” with one pointing out, “Some folks aren’t privileged enough to fly on the regular, and watching the world pass by at 30k feet is amazing.
“Let’s normalize kindness and understanding.”
Another remarked, “If I pay for my window seat, I’m looking at the damn window.”
“The audacity of someone to film someone minding their own business and enjoying the seat they paid for,” one contributor quipped.
“It’s clearly the middle of the day, and this person wants to look out the window that they paid for,” one individual noted. “Not everything is about you. Plan ahead and bring an eye mask/earplugs, etc.”
However, a few users sided with the OP: “[Flight attendant] here… you literally can’t see anything at 30k feet. Bright as sun, mostly clouds. No ocean or skyscrapers,” one posted.
However, as another commenter noted, “For anyone saying you can’t see anything, I love clouds, I love the sky, I love the sun. I will forever keep my window open. It calms me.”
Air Travel Trauma
Flights can cause a lot of drama, as Newsweek has previously covered.
One man thought he was getting a window seat when he booked a flight, only to discover that the Southwest plane he was on had a wall in the way.
A woman on a different flight was livid when she booked a window seat only for the man in front of her to put his seat back and claim her window.
Finally, one man had a better experience from his window seat on a flight to Los Angeles: A beautiful view of the northern lights.
“I don’t think anyone else on the flight even saw it. Most people had their shades down because of the early flight,” he told Newsweek.
Newsweek has reached out to @thegringowiththetruck for comment via TikTok.