Woman was flying from London to Guangzhou. All of a sudden, a stranger’s feet crept onto her armrests: ‘Would’ve tickled so fast’

A TikTok video posted by Nicole Fortuna showed what she presented as a throwback from a flight between London Heathrow and Guangzhou. On-screen text in the clip stated that the person behind her put her feet on Fortuna’s armrests.

The video showed Fortuna and a young man seated in an airplane cabin. Fortuna, who has long dark hair and wore a green top, made a peace sign with her right hand and smiled at the camera. The young man, wearing a red hoodie, also smiled.

Bare feet appeared on the armrests directly in front of them, with the soles facing upward, one on each side of Fortuna. In the caption, Fortuna wrote, “She put them down after I spilt water on them x.”

Viewers responded after the flight clip spread online

The video posted by Nicole Fortuna (@nicole_fortuna) has gained 11.4 million views, 875,900 likes, and almost 5,600 comments. The clip captured the pair looking toward the camera while the feet remained on the armrests in front of them.

Fortuna did not name the passenger behind her in the post. The on-screen text described the route as London Heathrow to Guangzhou and said the person behind her had placed feet on the armrests.

Some viewers questioned whether the moment was real. One commenter wrote, “gotta be staged becauae i refuse to believe anyone would just allow this.” Other commenters described the scene as rude. One wrote, “that’s so disrespectful.”

Several people suggested how they would have responded. One commenter wrote, “i would’ve tickled so fast.” Another wrote, “push ur seat back as far as you can, look back at them with the most serious expression and just start tickling both of their feet.”

One commenter joked about asking a flight attendant for help. They wrote, “Flight attendant can i get a coffee please? Make sure it’s really hot, thank you.” Such passenger disputes over personal space and seating are common on flights, as seen when a woman refused to swap seats for a couple on a Jetstar flight.

Another person said they had faced a similar situation. They wrote, “Someone did this to me on a 12 hour shift. I shamed her into putting them down and then had my arms glued to the armrests the whole flight. I felt her putting her feet against my elbows trying to push through but held on tight.” Such disputes over personal space can involve airline staff intervention, as when a woman on a Delta flight was allegedly asked by a flight attendant to cover up.