Feel outraged when plane passengers remove their shoes and air their sweaty feet in your space? One traveler has come up with a unique way to deter passengers from stretching their "smelly feet" under the seat in front of them in a viral video.
The clip, shared by TikToker @danielgreen2426, had over 334,000 views at the time of writing.
A message overlaid on the clip read: "Woman on the plane behind me kept putting her smelly feet under me..." The footage showed a person's foot, which wore a sock, poking out underneath what appeared to be a plane seat.
The message continued "...she then stopped," as a hand in the clip was shown dripping a drink over the woman's foot.
Many have probably faced a similar dilemma while traveling on cramped planes packed with passengers, as air travel has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
A March 2023 report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) found that total passenger traffic globally is "now at 84.2 percent of January 2019 levels."
According to the U.S. Transport Security Administration (TSA), 2,730,317 passengers were reported to have passed through a TSA checkpoint, as of June 19.
Overall traveler numbers were projected to reach 4 billion in 2024, amounting to 103 percent of the total numbers in 2019, according to a March 2022 report from the IATA.
A hand in the latest viral clip was shown pouring a drip from a canned drink onto the foot, which saw the foot move around a bit. After another drip was poured over it, the foot was seen wriggling around again before it retreated away from the seat.
The woman in the video is the latest among a string of other passengers on planes who have rattled others with their feet.
In late May, a passenger was left horrified after the person seated next to them draped their bare feet over the tray table. The scene was captured in a photo shared by the passenger.
"My reaction was sheer surprise at the absurdity," Luka from Washington, who was flying from Seattle to Orange County, told Newsweek at the time.
Back in April 2022, a woman was disgusted to find that a man seated behind her on a plane had taken his shoes off and placed them on her arm rest, with his toes touching the seat in front.
Angie told Newsweek at the time: "I thought it was rude and the total opposite of manners. That's why your parents tell you to keep your legs down at the dinner table. Not up!"
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok and Instagram. This video has not been independently verified.
Do you have a travel-related story or dilemma to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel and health.
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