A woman has sparked debate with her impressive hack to stop the passenger in front of her on a plane from reclining, yet some critics are slamming the method as unfair.
The age-old question of whether it’s acceptable to lean back during a flight remains unanswered. While some passengers complain that reclining interferes with their already cramped space, others maintain that the feature is a right that comes with their seat.
TikTok user Clare Duggan has shared her controversial trick to thwart someone’s attempt at pushing back their seat, especially after they refused to adjust their position during meal service.
“This is the best life hack when you’ve got someone in front who’s trying to put the seat down constantly,” stated Clare in her TikTok video, which has garnered over 1.5 million views.
Clare demonstrated how she uses a large Pringles can to jam the mechanism, placing it between her tray table and the locking part of the seat in front, effectively keeping it upright.
This prevents the seat from encroaching on Clare’s personal space throughout the journey by stopping the person in front of her from leaning back. The tip has seen mixed reactions in the comments, with some applauding Claire for her ‘ingenious’ solution, while others argue against restricting the freedom of the passenger ahead to lean back.
One individual commented, “Clever! But they are entitled to put seat back, like,” sparking a response from another who quipped, “Yep and you’re entitled to have Pringles on your tray table lol.”
A third chimed in with: “I’d ask why my seat wasn’t reclining, then the steward/ess would embarrass you In front of everyone.”
When questioned by another user about the desire to stop someone from reclining their paid-for seat, Clare explained, “I actually don’t mind people reclining but this guy was refusing to lift his up when I was eating even though politely asked. so this seemed like a fair way of dealing with it..”