Passenger turns down flight upgrade to exit row because extra responsibility would ‘stress her out’

A plane passenger turned down an upgrade to an exit row seat because the responsibility in an emergency would “stress her out”.

Josh Gondelman, a US comedian and fellow passenger, shared his awe at the exchange on Twitter.

He tweeted: “I just saw a woman turn down an upgrade to an exit row seat on a plane because the responsibilities in an emergency would stress her out. Legitimately congratulations to her on being the most honest person on the planet.”

Frequent flyers will be familiar with emergency row proceedings explained on each flight by the cabin crew before takeoff. The responsibility, to operate the exit door in an emergency situation, is very rarely asked of passengers in practice.

The upside of an exit row seat is a more generous amount of legroom and avoiding seat-reclining passengers sitting in front.

Exit row seats can be pre-booked with the exemption of passengers with slower reaction times, including those with physical or mental impairments, children and passengers travelling with animals.

Although it’s seen as a premium seat, many social media users agreed with the woman’s fears about choking under pressure in a high-intensity situation.

“I would do that too tbh, I don’t think I’d be strong enough to open the door and I think I would be way too stressed out for that much responsibility either way. If I was ever given an exit seat I would request a different seat because I just..don’t trust myself enough for that,” wrote one user.

Another commented: “I declined as well. I said I have never operated the door. Should I struggle or the door get stuck, during whatever ordeal that brought about the need for this, I would not take well the added stress of other passengers pressuring me due to their panic.”

Since it was initially posted on Wednesday 31 May, the tweet has been viewed more than 2.9 million times.

One user replied: “I switch my seat if they stick me in the exit because I’m irrationally terrified the door is going to open and suck me out.”

Last month, a passenger sparked panic on an Asiana Airlines flight to Daegu by opening an exit door at 700ft because he “wanted to get off”.