Passenger stands for 7-hour flight — and there’s a great debate about why she wouldn’t sit down
It was a different kind of standby flight.
A female airplane passenger sparked debate after she opted to stand in the aisle for the entire flight, as seen in a viral TikTok video.
“Lady stood on my flight for the entire seven-hour duration watching her movie,” Dr. Richard Duong, who posts under the username @envisionaries, captioned the clip.
In the footage, the unidentified blond is seen in the upright position in the aisle, watching her screen with a blanket around her waist.
She remains on her feet even after the lights have dimmed, the short clip shows.
However, Duong clarified in the comments that the flyer would take her seat when the seat belt sign came on.
While some online trolls poked fun at the woman — with one viewer quipping that she was “standing on business” — many others empathized with the flyer.
Many speculated that she may have been suffering from a medical condition that made it painful to sit down.
“She could have a clotting disorder,” theorized one. “I have to stand and stretch a lot because of this.”
“With massive back issues — totally get it,” said another.
A third wrote, “As someone with a broken tailbone, understood.”
“I have fibromyalgia and I would have to stand for most of the flight otherwise I’m in agony,” one sympathizer posited, while one defender declared, “She could have no issues at all and just wanted to stand. That’s her business.”
There are a slew of conditions that can make it agonizing to sit down, ranging from sciatica to herniated discs and even muscle strain, according to Orthopedic New Jersey.
As users pointed out, symptoms of fibromyalgia — which causes pain and stiffness all over one’s body — can be exacerbated by sitting for extended periods, per Health.com.
“This [sitting] may lead to an increase in pain,” they write. “To prevent symptoms flare-ups, engage in gentle physical activity every day and avoid sitting for long periods of time.”
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