Whether or not to recline your seat on a plane is a divisive topic, but one cabin crew member has settled the debate once and for all – but not everyone agrees. There are two kinds of people in this world – those who recline on flights and those who are filled with rage when it happens to them.

Long-haul flights in economy aren’t comfortable at the best of times, so sometimes people might use the recline function on their seats to make more space – especially if they are trying to sleep. But as we all know, this can be incredibly annoying for the person behind you – particularly if they are trying to eat.

But how entitled are you to be annoyed, and can you do anything about it? In order to settle the debate on the subject, cabin crew member Hannah Gaiger, who has worked onboard flights for over eight years, took to TikTok. As a cabin crew member, Hannah has had to “split up grown adults” who were arguing about whether or not they can recline their seats on multiple occasions.

“For some reason, I don’t know why, this is such an issue on flights,” she added in the recent video. And Hannah is firmly on the side of the people who want to recline their seats.

According to Hannah, this is what she says to people who ask her to tell someone to stop reclining their seat: “If the seat function has a seat recline, they are allowed to recline it.”

Hannah sparked a fierce debate online after insisting it’s perfectly acceptable to recline your seat on a flight, except during meal times. She explained that while it’s ‘common courtesy’ not to recline during the meal service, outside of those times, passengers should feel free to recline.

“A lot of people ask me, ‘do you mind asking that person to put their seat up while we eat’, that’s just polite. But at any other time in the flight, that’s not the meal service, recline away,” Hannah stated. She added: “I think it’s really unfair, and really unnecessary to ask someone not to recline their seat for a 14 hour flight. Even a seven hour flight, if that seat reclines, you can recline it.”

The comments section was divided over her stance. One user disagreed, pointing out: “The problem is the plane design! Created to cram as many people in for profit now over passenger comfort. Reclining on some planes now, means you can’t see you screen properly and/or legs crushed! ” Another chimed in with criticism about excessive reclining: “Some seat reclines are ridiculous though. Way too far back in your face.”

However, there were those who supported the right to recline. One person commented: “Totally agree. I HOPE the person ahead puts it forward for [meal service] but even if they don’t, thats their choice and tough luck for me I guess. I’d pay more to sit at the front if it really bothered me.”

Echoing this sentiment, another added: “Absolutely agree. during the meal service no, any other time yes.”