The growing plague of the Seat-Squatte: Passengers surprise others on the plane!

The growing plague of the Seat-Squatte: Passengers surprise others on the plane!

Charlottetown, Kanada - In the past few months, the complaints about the phenomenon of the “Seat-Squatters” have accumulated on flight trips. More and more passengers report on uninvited seats who take their places and refuse to clear them. Via social networks and platforms such as Reddit, those affected describe their experiences in a wide variety of ways. Some flew with the hope of a relaxed journey, but saw themselves disturbed by rude fellow travelers in their vacation experience.

A passenger named Ella describes an incident in which a male passenger took her assigned place and was only ready to give up his place after the intervention was intervened. Such incidents are not isolated: On a Delta flight, several travelers reported similar difficulties than passengers tried to tie themselves into better seats. An example includes a woman who lost her window seat to a man who only wanted to leave his place after the crew intervention during a flight to Charlottetown.

increasing complaints in airlines

The airlines themselves are therefore increasingly receiving complaints about such incidents. Delta, United Airlines and American Airlines in particular have to deal with a wave of complaints about “Seat Squatters”. A passenger reported that a “Seat Squatter” remained on his place, although a flight attendant pointed him out that his assigned place was forward. This was done in a situation in which the said lady showed no signs of an insight.

The experts agree: the seat always belongs to the person who was divided according to the boarding pass. Travel expert Gary Leff recommends that instead ask politely to exchange an exchange instead of simply "stealing" the space. These simple rules of conduct could prevent many conflicts and help to make travel more pleasant for everyone.

numbers and facts about air traffic

overall used around 4.9 billion people worldwide in 2024. This corresponds to a recovery of 7.2 % compared to the previous year. Around 199.5 million passengers were recorded in Germany alone. This shows that despite the increasing complaints about "Seat Squatters" the number of passengers continue to increase.

Air travel is one of the safest means of transport, with just one accident on 880,000 flights, according to Iata in 2024.

So it is to be hoped that awareness of the problem of the “Seat-Squatters” grows and that travel will become more relaxed and more pleasant for all passengers. More information about the behavior of passengers and their experience can be found, among others. In reports from Focus and 20 minutes .