A video of a passenger and a child battling over the positioning of a window shade on a plane has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was shared by @vmaymah and has had 15.1 million views since it was posted on February 17.
A message overlaid on the clip says: "POV: The kid in front of me thinks he can close MY window shade."
The footage shows a window shade raised up by a seat on a plane. A child's hand is seen reaching backwards from the seat in front and pulling the shade down, before the woman in the window seat pushes it back up.
The child's hand then reaches backwards again to bring the shade down but the woman's hand is seen holding the shade up at the halfway point. The kid then lets go of the shade before the woman pushes the blind all the way back up as the clip ends.
A caption shared with the post reads: "It's my window."
@vmaymah Its my window 😐 #windowseat #plane #foryou #viral #fy
♬ original sound - quis
In a June 2023 survey conducted on behalf of travel booking website Kayak, 1,000 adults aged over 18 in the U.S. and Canada were asked about "how you should behave when flying."
The survey found that travelers believe "you are allowed to control the window shade if you have the window seat" because 77 percent of travelers "think window democracy is a pipe dream."
Conflict with other flyers over window blinds and other plane etiquette-related matters is bound to be unavoidable, with air travel showing no signs of slowing down after grinding to a halt at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Global air traffic in November 2023 was reported to be at 99.1 percent of November 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels, according to the latest report from the International Air Transport Association in January.
'I Would Have Been So Mad'
The latest clip has sparked debate on TikTok, with several users being understanding of the original poster's frustration.
User zem said "i wouldn't be this calm" and Pickle noted "I would have been so mad."
User @fr4nx_2775 wrote: "I f****** hate kids they're so annoying and entitled nowdays."
Mrs D noted: "If I sit next to a window, I want to look out of the window.....who closes the window blind on a day flight?"
Indigenous_man wrote: "If I pay for a window seat, I'm gonna use the window and the seat."
🇦🇱 said: "can u guys not see the window is behind the little kid's seat, so it's not his..."
Sam agreed, writing "Why are people saying it's his window, it's not!! Your window seat is never behind you.."
Others were more sympathetic towards the child, such as abcdefgigottago2 who said "Plane window open for take off & landing. It's too bright for all that during the flight."
Your favourite Yorkshire lover said the window is "closer to him [the child] tho."
User @lvdyn._ㅤ said: "I don't really think that's completely your window.. that's more like a shared window." The original poster replied: "He has a window directly next to him."
User said: "Maybe he's trying to sleep."
Kokomi_lover_4000 noted: "maybe he wanna sleep but the sun is too bright." The original poster replied: "He did not want to sleep."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com and your story could be featured
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel and health.
Soo ... Read more
