A mother’s journey back to New York turned unexpectedly turbulent when her decision to recline her seat ignited a conflict with the passenger seated behind her. Traveling with her two-year-old on a Delta Airlines flight, Aliaksandra Knel encountered an unpleasant surprise as what should have been a simple act of adjusting her seat soon escalated into a heated disagreement.

Aliaksandra shared her experience online, sparking a spirited debate about the etiquette of reclining seats on airplanes. Her post, which detailed the discomfort of her three-and-a-half-hour flight, quickly drew mixed reactions from the public. The issue at hand was whether she overstepped by opting for a more relaxed position in her seat.

Shortly after the seatbelt sign dimmed, Knel decided to utilize the recline feature for some added comfort. However, instead of relaxation, she found herself grappling with a series of forceful kicks against her seatback. “The passenger behind me started aggressively pushing my seat with her legs,” she recounted on the social platform Threads. Despite her polite request for the passenger to desist, the tension only rose as the woman behind her responded with rudeness and continued her disruptive behavior.

Seeking assistance, Knel approached the flight attendants, but instead of clarity, she received varying responses. One crew member advised her against reclining altogether, while another attempted to intervene, asking the passenger behind Knel to cease her actions.

She added that she reported the passenger to different flight attendants, who gave her conflicting answers.

The mother said she was told by a crew member not to recline at all, while another tried to get the passenger behind her to stop pushing her seat.

However, as the attendant walked away, the woman returned to waging war over those precious few inches of legroom.

Frightened, Knel said she tried to record the situation, but the unruly woman knocked the phone out of her hands, which then hit her toddler in the face.

Aliaksandra Knel was flying home to New York with her 2-year-old on Sunday on Delta Airlines when she attempted to get comfortable by reclining her seat but the passenger behind her pushed back blocking her from doing so (Stock Image) 

Knel said she told flight attendants but nothing was resolved. She added that she went to record the woman behind her after she felt unsafe. The mother claimed the woman smacked her phone which then hit her baby (Stock Image) 

‘This is not about a seat. This is about safety. No one should be treated like this, especially when traveling with a child,’ the mother added.

She also noted that she had serious back pain and needed to take medication since she was unable to recline.

Knel’s story prompted users to viciously condemn her for trying to use the in-flight feature and shame her for trying to record the situation when she felt unsafe.

One user wrote: So you have the right to make her uncomfortable both by infringing on her already limited space and recording her without her consent, but she doesn’t have the right to respond?

Another added: ‘So instead of speaking to a flight attendant, you pulled out your phone to record her? And when she smacked your phone, it fell out of your hand and hit your kid? Kinda sounds like your actions contributed, and your kid paid the price for it.’

A third said: ‘It’s very annoying if someone reclines it before food service or during, as it’s really just manners. On short haul, I never recline the seat so others are comfortable. Difficult with a baby.’

Knel upset by the incident wrote on social media: ‘This is not about a seat. This is about safety. No one should be treated like this, especially when traveling with a child’ (Stock Image)

Users online were spilt with many defending the mother’s right to recline with several others condemning her for not only trying to get comfortable but also for pulling out her camera to record (Stock Image)

However, many others defended the reclining seats, noting that airlines allow passengers the ability, and if others cannot accept that, they should fly first class.

One user wrote: The responses here are wild. The original poster used a function of the seat, asked for help from the flight attendants who did nothing, and attempted to document bad behavior and was assaulted.’

Another added: ‘People who are saying she shouldn’t have reclined her seat. Seriously? How about if the person seated in the back of her politely explained what the issue was instead of shoving the back of her seat and creating the issue in the first place?’

A third said: ‘If you need more space that badly, YOU fly first class or pay for an extra legroom seat. No one needs to ask to recline the seat they pay for.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to Aliaksandra Knel and Delta Airlines for comment.