Who owns the air up there?
A chilly mid-air conflict is the latest drama to erupt in the not-so-friendly skies — this time over who controls the personal air conditioning vent on a Delta flight.
One passenger took to Reddit to blow off steam after his seatmate kept closing his overhead nozzle — even though it was pointed squarely at his own face.
“The person sitting in the middle has now 3 times closed my AC vent either while ‘adjusting’ their own vent or when I stood up to go to the bathroom,” the air-deprived traveler griped.
“The vent is pointed towards my face, nowhere near their direction.”
After giving the vent villain three strikes, the poster decided to speak up the fourth time — and was met with icy resistance.
“This dude looked me in the eyes and said I paid for my seat, not the communal AC system,” the Redditor recounted in a May 29 update.
Apparently, the sky-high squabble escalated when the man defended his right to meddle with someone else’s cool breeze by proclaiming, “people don’t always get their way in public transportation and that the current temperature was more than comfortable.”
The man then doubled down — demanding a cup of hot water from the flight attendant to warm his fragile frame, reportedly “holding it against his pulse points while animatedly shivering.”
Fellow Redditors were quick to blast the frosty flyer for his “mental gymnastics,” with one writing, “The mental gymnastics this guy had to do to say ‘people don’t get their way on public transportation’ whilst continuing to demand that he gets his was on public transportation, is staggering.”
Another chimed in: “This just happened to me… Some people! Jeesh!”
Others offered advice on how to deal with such airborne antics. “Excuse me, I’m not sure whether you realize you’re closing my AC vent, but I’d prefer it open. Thanks!” one suggested. “And if they do it again, be petty and call the FA.”
One user served up the most rational take of all: “People need to bring layers on a plane.”
Tensions over territory are nothing new on planes. ThevPost previously reported on another frequent flyer feud — the dreaded seat swap — which flight attendants say can lead to chaos at 30,000 feet.
“Just beware!” warned Leanna Coy, a Connecticut-based crew member who once made the mistake of switching seats only to find out the person she swapped with could technically charge purchases to her stored credit card.
In a highly viewed TikTok clip she added, “If the person you switch with does anything to act up on the plane, that can now come back on you.”
When it comes to seat rights — or vent rights — it seems that it’s every passenger for themselves.
As one Reddit user lamented in the aforementioned thread, “Wait, HE said sometimes people don’t get their way on public transportation and you didn’t just say ‘you’re right, so quit touching my goddamned vent’? Missed opportunity.”
The only real consensus? On today’s flights, bring your own snacks, patience — and definitely a sweater.