Passenger sparks debate after refusing to let mother and child sit in her plane seat for controversial reason

A plane passenger has sparked discussion online after stopping a mother and child from sitting together on a plane with a pretty surprising reason.

It seems like every time you board a plane nowadays, there's a new cost that goes with it.

Want to take your bag on board? That'll be $50. Feel the need to quench your thirst? That's another $5. And if you want to pick which seat you'll be in throughout the flight, you better get ready to crack open your wallet.

It was this latter payment that led to an issue on board a flight earlier this month, when a Reddit user found themselves dealing with what they described as a 'plane bandit'.

The passenger had paid for her seat on the flight. (Getty Stock Photo)

Taking to the 'Entitled People' subreddit, the passenger said they encountered a lady with a young son, approximately 11 or 12-years-old, in the seats that themselves and their husband had bought purposefully.

The family members were reportedly immersed in their phones, and after getting up at 3am, the Reddit user said they were 'not in the mood for bullsh*t'.

The passenger told the mom they were sat in the wrong seat, to which she allegedly 'smiled' and claimed a member of the cabin crew had 'told her they could sit here'.

"Uhm, she most definitely didn’t," the Reddit user said.

They continued: "I smile back and say we paid for these seats so we would like to sit there. She keeps smiling her stiff smile and points to other empty seats behind us and asks if we wouldn’t mind sitting in one of them since they are already settled and comfortable, would it even matter?"

The passenger repeatedly asked the mom to move. (Getty Stock Photo)

The Reddit user pointed out that the other seats might be reserved too, so attempting to take them would 'mess with the system'.

The mom claimed she and her son would only move if there weren't any other open seats when the plane had finished boarding, but that wasn't good enough for the passenger who'd paid to sit where they wanted.

Conscious of blocking the aisle while they went back and forth, the Reddit user decided to offer up then the worst-case scenario as the reason for them wanting their own seat.

They said: "I would like the police to be able to identify our bodies by seat number in case the plane crashes and our families want to bury our remains."

At this point, the mom's child looked up in 'shock', which the Reddit user described as 'delicious'.

The passenger was conscious of blocking the aisle. (Getty Stock Photo)

The comment was enough for the mom to pack up and move, but while the Reddit user was satisfied with the way their trip turned out, their response to the situation has sparked mixed responses online.

One person made clear they were on board with the mom being called out, saying: "Best response ever."

Others suggested the Reddit user could have relied more on the cabin crew, saying: "After the first exchange, I am done talking and I hit the flight attendant call button."

A third indicated they should have let karma do the work as they shared their own similar experience, writing: "Someone recently took the seat I paid to select and I allowed them to keep it cause I was exhausted...

"A 6’5” gentlemen’s ended up sitting in front of them and ended up leaning back the whole time. The inflight entertainment for the seat also seemed to malfunction through the trip and the flight was 12 hours."

When it comes down to it, sitting in the seat you've been assigned is much less hassle for everyone involved - it's not worth fighting over.