Woman cries for three hours on flight after request to change seats denied

ISTANBUL - A woman reportedly cried for three hours during a flight after another passenger refused her request to switch seats so she could sit next to her husband.

According to a report by The Indian Express on Wednesday, the incident went viral after passenger Tomiko Harvey shared her experience in a video on Instagram.

Harvey, a travel creative director, was returning from Kazakhstan on Turkish Airlines, with a connecting flight from Istanbul to Washington, the United States (US).

She said a woman had asked her to give up her aisle seat and move to a middle seat so she could sit next to her husband during the 10-hour flight.

However, Harvey declined the request, prompting the woman to start crying.

"She cried for three hours. I eventually asked her if someone had died because who cries for three hours?

"She said nobody had died. She just missed her husband and wondered whose shoulder she could lean on," Harvey said.

Ironically, the woman's husband was seated two rows ahead in a middle seat and was reportedly asleep with headphones on throughout the flight.

Harvey said the woman asked her several times to switch seats, but she stood by her decision.

After the plane landed, Harvey sarcastically praised the woman for making it through the 10-hour flight without sitting next to her husband.

The post sparked mixed reactions on social media.

Some users defended Harvey's right to keep her seat, particularly if passengers had selected or paid for specific seats.

However, others criticised her for allegedly making light of the woman's emotions.

Harvey maintained that couples who wish to sit together should book adjacent seats in advance or pay for seat selection. - AGENCY