Traveler sparks FURIOUS debate after refusing to give up her seat in an airport terminal to a woman who was in a WHEELCHAIR
- The unnamed passenger took to Reddit’s infamous r/AmItheA**hole forum
- The 26-year-old asked if she was wrong during the heated argument
- She said fellow passengers labeled her an ‘asshole’, but readers largely disagreed
A traveler has sparked heated debate after refusing to give up her seat in an airport terminal to a woman in a wheelchair.
The unnamed passenger, believed to be from the US, took to Reddit’s infamous r/AmItheA**hole forum to ask if she was wrong during the heated argument.
The 26-year-old explained how she arrived at the airport early for her 6am flight and arrived at the gate at 4.30am.
‘When I got to the terminal there were eight different gates, but only one was in use, so there was quite a bit of seating. Since I arrived early, I took one at the far end by the window.
‘I travel alone and like to look out the window. “I started listening to my podcast in an attempt to wipe the sleep from my eyes and stayed true to myself,” she described her morning.
The unnamed passenger, believed to be from the US, took to Reddit’s infamous r/AmItheA**hole forum to ask if she was wrong during the heated exchange
The original poster emphasized that she was not in the disabled seat and that there were plenty of other available seats nearby (stock image)
But about 45 minutes after settling in, she noticed a woman and her mother being “driven to the gate” — though she later noticed they could “walk onto the plane.”
The pair then approached the solo traveler and “stopped to ask if I wanted to move.”
“There were a lot of open seats. Probably more than 100. I definitely had a nicer, closer place,” she admitted.
‘When they asked if I wanted to move, I said no. The younger lady called me rude and made fun of it. Again, there were tons of open seats and I had been there for a while. I would have stood or moved if there were no seats.
‘They sat in a row opposite each other and looked at me the whole time until we boarded the last group. On the plane, the person next to me called me an asshole because I didn’t move for him. No one else offered to move.”
During her layover, the traveler began to question her actions and wrote the post asking if she was the ‘jerk’ for not moving.
In an update, she emphasized that she was “not sitting in the handicapped seat.”
‘Moreover, some people have invisible disabilities. I was traveling alone, and I think they asked me that because every other person at the end of the line seemed to be part of a group/family.”
Overall, other Reddit users agreed that the woman was “not the asshole.”
Overall, other Reddit users agreed that the woman was “not the asshole.”
‘NTA. Unless you were in a seat designated for people with disabilities, it is first come, first served.
“Using a wheelchair does not entitle a person to a seat of his or her choice,” was one most liked comment.
‘NTA. They could have used any other seat,” a second agreed.
“NTA, unless it was specifically for disabled people, they were clearly using their disability to incite guilt,” said a third.
And, as a fourth put it: ‘NTA Based on the fact that there were plenty of other eligible seats open, and your seat wasn’t specifically marked as for people with disabilities, it seems incredibly fair that they expect you to move.
“If they could adequately justify why they needed that seat in particular, they might have had a case, but they didn’t….”