A viral post has ignited a firestorm of disgust and debate over in-flight etiquette after one passenger shared a photo of another traveler resting their bare foot on her armrest during a long-haul flight.
Posted by Reddit user u/sarahfayejay in the r/Wellthatsucks subreddit, the image was captioned simply: “I have a 9 hour flight ahead of me.” The post quickly gained traction, racking up more than 48,000 upvotes and thousands of comments since it was shared on August 3.
The photo shows a bare foot planted firmly on the armrest next to the Reddit user’s seat—an invasion of personal space that many online agreed crossed the line from inconsiderate to outright offensive.
The poster, who did not share their name or age, told Newsweek that the image was taken on a flight this week on August 3 traveling from Zurich, Switzerland, to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
U/sarahfayejay on Reddit
The poster said: “This was economy seating. The person with their foot on my armrest was an adult woman. She had her foot on my armrest as I got to my seat, which was when I took the photograph, and left it there during the duration of boarding until we took off.”
Travelers had plenty to say when it comes to feet on a plane in a June 2023 survey of 1,000 passengers in the United States and Canada.
The survey, conducted on behalf of the travel booking website Kayak, found that you are “not allowed to put your feet against the seat in front of you” because 68 percent of passengers think “feet belong on the ground.”
You are also not allowed to take off your socks and shoes because 76 percent of travelers “prefer their vision free of toes,” while 56 percent believe “there’s a difference between a plane and a beach,” the survey found.
While the barefooted passenger in the Reddit post appeared to have other thoughts on feet etiquette on a plane, she did eventually remove her foot from the armrest.
The Reddit user told Newsweek: “I planned to give her until after takeoff where I would then have likely asked her to remove her foot or gotten a flight attendant’s attention, but, as we were taking off, she took it down on her own. Thankfully, she did not put it back up for the remainder of the flight.”
‘Your Foot Is Not a Carry-On’
Etiquette experts say the behavior violates even the most-basic standards of public conduct—especially in cramped, shared spaces like airplanes.
“Your foot is not a carry-on, and someone’s armrest is not your ottoman,” Lisa Mirza Grotts told Newsweek. She is an etiquette expert and author of A Traveler’s Passport to Etiquette in a Post-Pandemic World. “Unless you’re on a beach towel in Tahiti, your bare foot belongs nowhere near another human—especially not on an armrest at 30,000 feet.”
Grotts added: “When your shoes come off, your manners stay on. Taking off your shoes is one thing, but propping your bare feet on an armrest is a foul in any class of service.”
Etiquette expert Nick Leighton, co-host of the podcast Were You Raised By Wolves?, told Newsweek that the move isn’t just offensive—it is a major etiquette breach. “The most-dignified way to respond is a polite-yet-direct ‘excuse me, would you mind moving your foot?’ Most people will agree,” he said. “But, if not, loop in a flight attendant and let them handle it.”
Certified life coach Randi Crawford suggested passengers faced with such situations stay calm but assertive. “If this were my client, the first thing I would tell them to do is take a deep breath to center themselves before speaking,” Crawford told Newsweek.
“Next, turn around, and, with a big smile, say ‘Could you move your foot? That’s my space. I appreciate it.’ Then put your headphones back on and act like the conversation is done, because it is,” Crawford said. “If they don’t move their toes from your arm rest, the next move is to push that flight attendant button, ASAP.”
Reddit users didn’t hold back. U/Odd_Base_1408 added: “HELL NO. I would turn right around and tell them off.”
“Tell a flight attendant. Filthy savage,” wrote u/Bear-Cricket-89.
Others expressed disbelief at the lack of basic courtesy. “That’s disgusting,” posted u/lowrisk-noreward. U/Tritec_enjoyer96 echoed the sentiment with: “Why are people so … disgusting in public?”
User u/GazelleOne1567 asked bluntly: “How can you be so oblivious to making other people uncomfortable.”
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