RECENTLY, on my flight from Bangkok to Islamabad, I happened to witness an unpleasant episode. While food was being served, a middle-aged man reclined his seat. As a result, there was no room for the passenger sitting behind him to unfold her tray table.

When she asked him to move his seat to an upright position, he refused and insisted that he was not bound to do it. The passenger complained to the flight attendants, but they let him continue sitting on the same seat in the same position.

Once, the man even became abusive towards the lady. The stewards, instead of asking him to behave, offered to shift the lady to some other seat. To top it all, he was entertained four times with beverages upon his request despite his unruly behaviour.

One wonders why Pakistani men behave in such a manner. What sort of impression do they convey to other passengers and especially to the crew of foreign airlines?

S. Khaled
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2018