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A Delta passenger was left stunned after discovering that a fellow traveler had apparently decided someone else’s under-seat space was the perfect place to store a pair of shoes during a flight.
Posting on Reddit, user ayachdee shared a photo of a pair of sneakers sitting underneath the seat in front, directly in the footwell area of the passenger behind.
“[The] person in front removed their shoes, reached behind their seat and put them in our storage space,” the original poster (OP) wrote.
“Zero shame.”
Reddit users flocked to the comments to weigh in, and they had no shortage of suggestions for how the situation should have been handled.
One Reddit user came up with a possible response: “‘Excuse me? Someone from the last flight must have left their disgusting, smelly shoes under my seat. Would you please throw them in the trash? Thanks!'”
Another added, “You’re on the aisle. Pick them up. Carry them to the back of the plane; they go in an overhead bin. Somewhere around aisle 30. Enjoy.”
An update shared later by the OP revealed that they had reached through the gap, tapped the passenger on the shoulder and asked her to move them.
“She moved them but was annoyed,” they added.
Airplane Etiquette
The story tapped into a larger discussion about airplane etiquette and where travelers draw the line between comfort and consideration for others.
A previous Newsweek report examined reactions to a passenger placing bare feet on an in-flight entertainment screen.
The article noted that, according to a survey conducted on behalf of travel booking website Kayak, “68 percent of passengers believe ‘feet belong on the ground,’ and ‘you are not allowed to put your feet against the seat in front of you.'”
The same survey found that “76 percent of travelers ‘prefer their vision free of toes.'”
Another Newsweek article explored backlash after a traveler rested a bare foot on another passenger’s armrest during a long-haul flight.
In that report, etiquette expert Lisa Mirza Grotts told the outlet, “Your foot is not a carry-on, and someone’s armrest is not your ottoman.”
Grotts also said, “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.”
While the shoes in this case never made contact with another passenger, many Redditors felt the same principle applied.
Airplane seats come with limited personal space, and for many travelers, that space includes the area beneath the seat directly in front of them.
Judging by the reactions online, placing personal belongings in a stranger’s footwell crossed a line that most passengers would prefer remain firmly on the ground.
Newsweek has reached out to ayachdee for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
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