The Rising Trend of Seat-Squatting on Flights That’s Frustrating Travelers

All you want is a nice, comfy seat. In fact, you deserve it. After the drive to the airport, lugging bags, checking in, muscling through security, and eating a crummy bagel as you waited for your flight, you’re now on the plane. Seat 8C. Aisle seat, just like you like it. Near the front, but still affordable. Aisle six, aisle seven, and…

Someone is already sitting there. You double-check your ticket, but there’s no mistake; this other passenger is sitting in the wrong seat. Your seat. And when you point this out and ask the person to move (because clearly there’s some small mistake), the person insists on staying put.

This is the gut-wrenching concept of “seat squatting,” a phenomenon that has recently made unsettling headlines. Plenty of news outlets have reported on it, from Fox News to The New York Post. In some cases, passengers move up in rows and plant themselves in unearned seats multiple times. There may even be more than one seat stealer on one flight. Other stories cited frustrated Reddit users or referred to TikTok rants, each describing a similar scenario: Some oaf steals a seat and refuses to move. The rightful owner explains, coaxes, begs, or flashes a temper, but nothing works. The seat-stealer stays put, sometimes insisting that they simply switch seats. This isn’t just breaking the unspoken rules of airline etiquette; it’s robbing passengers of property they have paid for.