Man forces a woman out of her assigned airplane seat over his religious beliefs — the flight attendants shut him down
Many travelers prefer to book their flights well in advance to secure seats that suit their comfort and convenience. However, even after planning ahead, they can sometimes find themselves in awkward situations. A woman named Joanna Nalepa, who goes by @nalepa_cancer_warrior on Instagram, shared an unusual experience on March 10, 2026, after finding herself in a similar situation during a flight. According to her, she was asked to leave her assigned seat because a fellow passenger refused to sit next to her due to religious reasons. Although Nalepa chose not to argue and quietly moved, it was the flight attendants' response to the passenger that perfectly shut him down.
The woman explained that the fellow passenger was not ready to sit beside her simply because she was a woman. She mentioned that the passenger’s refusal was rooted in his religious beliefs. Not wanting to prolong the argument, she quietly moved to another available seat. However, recalling the incident afterward left her feeling disheartened. But Nalepa shared that the flight staff stood firmly by her side during the situation, telling the passenger, “This is her seat, she is going to sit there, but if your religion doesn’t let you sit next to a woman, then you should manage everything you can for the flight so you feel comfortable.”
The flight staff also made it clear to the passenger that it was selfish to expect someone else to give up their assigned seat because of his religious beliefs. Nalepa explained that she found the passenger’s demand out of place in the 21st century. She said the incident felt discriminatory to her and believed it promoted inequality. “I just don’t like it,” she said, making it clear that she found the behavior unacceptable. According to the FAQ section available on Booking.com, passengers have the right to politely refuse if another traveler asks them to switch seats and they are not comfortable with the arrangement.
The guidelines state that no passenger is required to surrender their assigned seat. They also note that on a full flight, changing seats can not only inconvenience other travelers but may even disrupt the aircraft’s pre-calculated balance and weight distribution, which airlines manage before takeoff. Perhaps that is why the flight staff supported Nalepa and gave the passenger, who refused to sit next to her, a stern response to the situation. The shared video was captioned, “Not okay in 2026. I was asked to move from my airplane seat because I’m a woman. Respect beliefs — but equality matters too.”
The video gained more than 249,000 views and 10,000 likes, while many people also flooded the comments section with humorous reactions. @skehanmarge joked, “What religion would this be? I'll try that next time I want first class.” Another user, @papalotlkisses, wrote, “He should buy 3 seats next time. Sexism disguised as religion is the worst.”
The passenger’s refusal came across as blunt and disrespectful to Nalepa, leading one of the users, @gregory_ladner, to comment, “Why didn’t they move him into the cargo hold?” For Nalepa, who later regretted how quietly she accepted the passenger’s demand, the experience was enough to make her certain that she would not tolerate similar behavior again in the future.
For more such videos, follow @nalepa_cancer_warrior on Instagram.