A solo traveler recently shared her frustrating experience on a flight after declining to swap her aisle seat for a middle one, which was assigned to a father who wanted to sit closer to his family.

Megan Jewell, a Texan with over 125,000 followers on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X, recounted the incident on Friday. She stated that the father kept reaching across her to communicate with his family seated on the other side of the aisle, seemingly to express his displeasure.

In a post to her 20,000 followers on X, Jewell explained: “A man on my flight asked to switch my aisle seat for his middle one because his wife and child were seated across from us.”

She continued, “I politely refused. I dislike middle seats and had pre-booked my aisle spot. He spent the entire flight sighing in annoyance.”

Jewell further commented, “He kept leaning over me to signal to his wife about something I chose to ignore. Honestly, I don’t care if you booked last minute and didn’t get your preferred seat. Don’t make your problems other people’s problems too.”

In the three days since Jewell posted, the tweet has racked up more than four million views and more than 80,000 likes. 

And hundreds of people have weighed in on the ordeal, with some being supportive of Jewell while others were dismissive of her complaint. 

‘I love that this blew up. F**k them kids, f**k them parents, as a good parent I’d be paying extra to make sure my family sat together,’ one user wrote. ‘Hell yeah dude,’ Jewell replied. 

Megan Jewell, a Texas woman with a moderate following on social media, posted a viral tweet that has prompted a lively debate over plane etiquette

Jewell said she endured hours of pettiness on a flight after refusing to swap seats with a father so he could sit closer to his kids

This tweet discussing the ordeal, posted to Jewell’s 20,000 followers on X, has garnered more than four million views and more than 80,000 likes in three days

‘Plane seat switching a big no no for me, should’ve booked a different flight or earlier,’ another user wrote, to which Jewell replied saying she agrees that it is alright to ask people to switch seats, ‘but don’t expect them to say yes.’

‘A quote I’ve always liked “your poor planning doesn’t constitute an emergency on my part,”‘ a third user wrote. 

Although many replies seemed to agree with Jewell and view the father as entitled, others flipped the script on her. 

‘You don’t get to say no to switching seats then be pissed that you’re literally in the middle of their conversations. You have the right to not switch but not to demand they just ignore each other for hours,’ a user replied. 

‘You’re a real sweetheart!’ another put simply. ‘I’m actually a b***h truth be told,’ Jewell replied with tongue-in-cheek self-awareness. 

‘It would have been gracious of you to offer to change seats. Not an obligation, but personal decency,’ another person said. 

Because of all the attention garnered by Jewell’s post, she made a couple of follow-up tweets providing more detail about what had transpired. 

On Sunday morning, she posted a second tweet about the ordeal that began by saying: ‘More facts from the situation.’

Because of all the attention garnered by Jewell’s post, she followed up with this tweet providing more details

She wrote that she pays in advance for assigned seats when flying, something she said she does two to three times a month, which makes her ‘well versed in flying and travel etiquette.’

She also emphasized that she ‘politely’ declined the father’s request to swap seats, that he grew frustrated afterwards and that constantly reaching over her was petty. 

And she added that the man’s wife even noticed his behavior and ‘told him to relax.’

‘Whether they were unprepared or not, I’m not giving up my comfort for a 4.5 hour flight and a seat I paid to secure, for a stranger,’ Jewell wrote towards the end of the post.

‘A lot of y’all are just r****ded in the replies,’ she concluded. 

A little less than 20 minutes later, Jewell posted another tweet making fun of her detractors. 

Summarizing her initial interaction, she wrote: ‘“Will you switch me seats on this long flight?” “No thank you, I like the aisle seat.”’ 

Then imitating the replies, she wrote: ‘*People on X* You’re a fat e-w**re who contributes nothing to society and you’re miserable and you should never procreate and you’re ugly and you must hate yourself.’

Jewell emphasized that she ‘politely’ declined the father’s request to swap seats and that constantly reaching over her to talk to her wife across the aisle was petty

Some users replied to Jewell’s tweets with a potential compromise of offering money to swap seats

‘The internet is not a real place,’ she wrote with a couple of crying laughing emojis. 

Although most people in the replies either simply agreed or disagreed with Jewell, others took a more nuanced route and thought about a solution that could have satisfied both parties. 

‘As a dad I would’ve offered you money for the switch. Did he offer you money?’ One user replied to her first tweet. 

‘I would’ve offered it to him for $200 cash. Otherwise I’m good to stay in my original seat,’ wrote another in response to one of her follow-up posts. 

‘Sure I’ll switch seats with you. That’ll be $200,’ said a third. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Jewell for comment and additional details.