A passenger’s conduct on a flight has sparked a furious debate around travel etiquette on aeroplanes.

Reddit user PepperLunchies shared a photograph of the offending passenger on the popular forum website, in a thread dedicated to the travel company Singapore Airlines. The photo shows the person sitting next to them with their shoes and socks removed, and their bare foot touching the seat in front.

“Just wondering, if a passenger is rude next to you, like this example here. Can I request to change seats or get him to put on his stupid shoes?” the Reddit user asked.

“He was like [that] throughout the flight except for meal times at which he kept asking for whisky and only after confirming that it was a Johnny Walker red label….. for the life of me. Why did I have to put next to this heathen?”

The question prompted a wave of responses, with many offering differing verdicts on how to handle the situation.

“Ask him nicely. Then ask the crew nicely. Nothing else you can do,” one prominent response read.

“Omg I swear there are so many disgusting people in this world that i feel like i have to pay 4x the price to sit business so that I can avoid this kind of situation,” wrote another commenter.

“Disgusting, if you want to take out your socks and air your feet I suggest booking a business class ticket instead,” someone else remarked.

Others suggested escalating the situation with a more confrontational approach.

“Quite simple actually. Just use your feet and touch his feet, you’re wearing shoes, he isn’t,” one person said.

“I would accidentally tilt beverage all over and say sorry,” another wrote.

After being asked what the original poster’s response was to the etiquette infraction was, they explained: “No, [I didn’t ask him to cover his feet]. I was afraid cos he seemed partially drunk. I mean, I just wanted no drama if possible. Yah sadly I can be a pushover lol.”

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