Flight attendant reveals their one trick to punish passengers who refuse to swap seats

A flight attendant has this week confessed to punishing certain travellers who refuse to give up their seat on a flight to accommodate others.

If you're anything like me, I bet the only things getting you through these rather mild mid-spring months are thoughts of your summer holiday.

Sitting in the sunshine, reading your favourite book, topping up your tan with a hefty pina colada in hand, surrounded by your equally-relaxed loved ones - is there anything more beautiful?

The only downside to a summer vacation nowadays is, however, the ALMIGHTY additional costs that come with booking a trip abroad.

Not only do you have to fork out a small fortune for your flights and accommodation, but you've also got to sell an organ to afford the extortionate cost of booking extra baggage and even worse, reserving the seat you want.

The plane etiquette debate has divided millions. (izusek/Getty)

So much so, that many travellers in recent years have given up on this aspect of their trip, and would sooner save the money and spend the flight sitting alone.

For those dead set on spending the journey in the company of their friends and family, who've paid the staggering cost to reserve a particular seat, there's absolutely nothing worse than being asked to move for another passenger.

As part of what is considered a long-standing debate over plane etiquette, some travellers are of the understanding that passengers should be accommodating to individuals travelling with young children, regardless of whether or not they've prepaid for the seats.

Others - myself included - disagree, and argue that, if sitting with your child is so important, you should have handed over the same £7 that I did to reserve the seat beside them.

We're all in the same boat here, people!

Apparently, however, cabin crew members have a secret means of punishing flyers that refuse to give up their pre-booked, pre-paid seats for others.

Whose side are you on? (Getty stock photo)

That's right, there's a secret process that Orlando-based flight attendant Mitra Amirzadeh enacts upon passengers that refuse to move.

According to Mitra - who spoke to the Wall Street journal - cases involving kids deserve some kind of special treatment.

"I have said before, 'OK, so you’re going to watch the toddler?'," she admitted. "'You’ll want their snacks and their colouring books then, because they’re going to need that.'"

She did go on to admit that in the majority of cases - specifically those not involving children - she tends to side with the passenger that reserved the seat.

"The next time you feel yourself getting angry or getting frustrated that you’re not getting the seat you want, you need to remind yourself that you didn’t pay to pick your seat. Otherwise, you’d be in it."

Topics: Life, Parenting, Real Life, Travel, True Life, Plane Etiquette

Rhianna Benson

Rhianna is an Entertainment Journalist at LADbible Group, working across LADbible, UNILAD and Tyla. She has a Masters in News Journalism from the University of Salford and a Masters in Ancient History from the University of Edinburgh. She previously worked as a Celebrity Reporter for OK! and New Magazines, and as a TV Writer for Reach PLC.

@rhiannaBjourno