Qantas has urged passengers to be respectful of other flyers and staff by refraining from putting their feet on seats.
The reminder comes after a passenger on a Qantas flight from Sydney to Brisbane was pictured barefoot with their feet elevated on the seat in front of them.
“We expect customers to refrain from putting their feet on seats, both for hygiene reasons and out of respect for the comfort of others in the cabin,” a Qantas spokesperson told Yahoo Lifestyle.
Another passenger onboard the QF544 flight on Saturday, posted the image on the Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum Group Facebook page, which received plenty of comments from horrified Aussies.
One said that the act was “totally unacceptable”, while others said it was “uncouth behaviour”.
Some even called for the passenger to be banned from flying with the airlines in the future.
Different flights have different rules on footwear, on the Qantas website, it states that: “For your safety, footwear must be worn to board, disembark and during your flight. If you are unable to wear footwear, notify a member of our airport staff of the reason.”
Meanwhile for Jetstar, passengers are only required to have shoes on when boarding and disembarking.
“Once on board, you are not required to wear footwear even if you’re seated in an exit row, though it is recommended,” the airline said.
Having shoes on is especially important during emergencies, where passengers may need to disembark quickly, and therefore won’t have time to put on footwear.
There have been other instances of barefoot flyers taking up space shared on social media, and some have taken matters into their own hands by pouring water on the exposed feet or stamping on the toes of those invading their space.
Image: Facebook/ aiyoshi597 / Shutterstock.com
