A woman was stuck in the middle seat of a flight when the person next to her started doing something ‘rude’ – she claims she couldn’t even get to the toilet

08:22, 12 Jan 2026

Spending a long haul flight in the middle seat is never fun – especially if you get irritated by the people beside you.

That’s exactly the predicament Roksana Ashcroft found herself in when she was travelling from her holiday in Thailand back to the UK on January 3.

The 22-year-old was stuck in between a stranger and her partner Oliver, 25, as they made the journey from Bangkok to London Heathrow via Kazakhstan with Air Astana.

Sadly, the long haul trip felt even longer because Roksana was sat next to a passenger who was “using her as an armrest”. To make matters worse, she claims the plane seat neighbour would not move to provide access to the toilet.

Roksana, from Nottingham, recalled: “I was sitting in the middle seat with a large lady to my right on the aisle seat who was using my hip and leg as an armrest.

“She was very rude when I asked her politely to let me out to go to the toilet seven hours into the flight, when I was in a lot of pain from her resting her arm on me.

“She refused to stand up, which is when, after 15 minutes, I decided to press the button to call for a flight attendant who was very helpful and didn’t take her ‘I’m too tired to stand up as an answer’. I was mortified.”

Sadly, getting some respite in the toilets didn’t work to ease Roksana’s discomfort as the problem kept occurring.

She said: “As soon as the lady sat down, she instantly lent her arm in front of mine, so it was like I was being pinned back by her arm.”

Roksana decided to take action by filming her discomfort on the plane. She then posted it to social media, calling on airlines to prevent this from happening in the future.

She added: “The flight was very uncomfortable and left my hip and leg in a lot of pain. I had to lean over to my boyfriend the whole flight to try and give her a bit more room.

“I believe airlines should either make seats bigger and accommodate plus-sized people, or they should bring in some sort of check-in method that would stop plus-size people from hanging over their seats just like they check baggage.”

The passenger also called on fellow social media users to join her in pressuring airlines to make a change.

She said: “I’m sorry, but can we please start a petition for larger people to have to book two seats. Not to be rude, but because I spent nine hours with a lady leaning her arm on my hip and leaving me in so much pain.”

However, the responses Roksana has received have been very varied. While some agreed with her, others weren’t impressed that she filmed a fellow passenger without permission.

One said: “Can we please start a petition to stop filming people without them knowing.” Another agreed, writing: “I’m a bigger person and this is why I don’t fly. Because I don’t want someone filming me.”

Meanwhile, another suggested a solution to the issue. They recommended: “Or you could buy a first class seat.”

Despite the backlash, there were plenty of people on Roksana’s side. One argued: “Airplanes should be like rides that have a specific seat size. If you can’t fit, you can’t fly.”

Another said: “I am a big lady and I always pay for two seats. It saves so many problems.” And a third insisted: “Need to charge for person’s weight as they do with cases and provide larger seats.”

In response to this complaint, Air Astana suggested customers should book extra room if they are uncomfortable on flights. A spokesperson said: “The airline regrets the impressions experienced by the passenger.

“Air Astana adheres to the principles of respectful and equal treatment of all passengers, and does not tolerate discrimination based on individual characteristics, and operates in strict compliance with aviation safety requirements.

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“Passengers who prefer additional personal space may choose alternative seating options with enhanced comfort.”