Travel Trending Topics

A Photo Of A Budget Airline With A Backless Seat Went Viral, But It’s Not What You Think

iStock 1135468770
Karen Belz
Published August 7, 2019

I think we can all agree that flying on an airplane isn’t always the most relaxing, or comfortable, method of transportation. Unless you’re lucky enough to get a first-class seat, you usually have to deal with crowding, crying babies, and below-average snacks. But at least your flight has proper seats — right?

A photo quickly went viral of a woman sitting on an EasyJet Airline flight. In it, the back of her seat is completely missing. That’s not just uncomfortable — it’s also unsafe.

Hello, safety regulations anyone?

After viewing the photo, EasyJet was quick to respond. But first, they tried to get the Twitter user — who goes by the name Matthew Harris on their profile — to take the photo down. That in itself seems a little suspicious.

You’d assume that they’d immediately want to explain themselves if it truly was just a mix up.

 

According to People, Harris refused to take the picture down. Instead, Harris offered more of an explanation about how ridiculous the scenario was. When you book a ticket, the only thing you should expect while traveling is an actual full seat.

Even if this customer in question got a hefty discount, it’s still completely baffling to assume that someone would feel comfortable on a flight like that.

“This is flight 2021 Luton to Geneva,” Harris noted. “How can this be allowed?”

 

Imagine how Harris’s partner felt on the flight — could you imagine the kind of fear that might run through your head after seeing such a photo?

 

Giphy

Would the plane even get them to their destination safely?

 

Some people used this post as a chance to make a few timely jokes…

And even triggered some potential airplane redesign inspo…

Meanwhile, other people assumed that Harris was posting fake news.

 

Giphy

But it’d be strange if he actually posted it with the intent to take the airline down.

 

“The lady was moved to a spare seat once the flight was fully boarded. Not sure what would have happened if the flight was full,” Harris later added, according to People. “My partner took the photo.”

The airline tried its hardest to explain their point of view on the whole situation.

 

And when you hear it, it does make a little more sense.

Giphy

According to EasyJet, that seat was officially out of commission.

That means that nobody should have been sitting in it at all.

 

There were even signs placed on the seats requesting that no one sit there.

Is it possible that Harris staged the photo? Or was it just a big miscommunication?

Giphy

Signs point to a little of both.

 

The airline also made sure to state that they’d never let anyone fly with a backless seat.

That’s likely why the picture got their attention so quickly.

 

If you’ve been on a flight recently, you know that things can often get hectic right before takeoff.

Giphy

And those who don’t fly frequently might have trouble finding their actual assigned seat.

 

Regardless, the post led to a lot of Twitter speculation.

 

People were curious to learn what the real story was.

 

Here’s another interesting thing regarding the photo — nobody sitting around the person in question seemed to be all that concerned about the seat. If you saw this happen, don’t you think you’d at least ask them if they feel comfortable flying without a seat backing?

Also, the person in question has yet to speak up about what happened.

 

You’d assume if they sat there during the entire flight that they’d have some words themselves.

 

But EasyJet truly made things so much worse by asking Harris to delete the photo.

 

PR people, this is the best way to look sketchy!

 

Even though airline scandals seem to be on the rise these days, you have to have faith that EasyJet wouldn’t allow any passenger to take off in an unsafe seat. Hopefully they knew the flight was nowhere near full and the passenger chose to wait in an un-designated place on their own.

The airline also wanted to make it clear that they had a standard procedure in place when it came to an overbooked flight.

 

Giphy

They explained that, “passengers would have been offered an alternate flight as they would not have been permitted to travel in these seats.”

But, hey, at least this takes the heat off of RyanAir for a little bit, as one Twitter user pointed out:

The lesson here is until you know the full story, you might want to avoid tweeting out images that tell it a bit differently.