Plus-size passenger sparks debate on social media after refusing to give extra seat she paid for to a toddler

A plus-sized passenger has left people divided after refusing to give up her extra seat.

Knowing she was overweight and that most commercial airlines don't accommodate for this, the 34-year-old bought two seats.

She'd previously felt uncomfortable being squashed into one seat, so thought this was a good solution to her problem.

But she was met with criticism during her flight for not giving up her spare seat for a toddler.

Taking to Reddit, the anonymous poster said that her travels were going fine before a mom on her flight ordered her to 'squeeze into one seat' so that her young son could sit in the other.

But the passenger declined and explained that she had paid for the extra seat for more space.

"She makes a big fuss over it, which got the flight attendant’s attention. She told the flight attendant I was stealing the seat from her son, then I showed my boarding passes, proving that I in fact paid for the extra seat," she penned.

A woman refused to give up the extra seat she'd paid for (Getty Stock)

"The flight attendant asked me if I could try to squeeze in, but I said no, that I wanted the extra seat I paid for. The boy, who the mom said is 18 months old was supposed to sit in her lap so he could do just that. The flight attendant eventually told the mom to put her son in her lap."

She went on to say that she received 'dirty looks and passive-aggressive remarks' from the mom for the rest of the flight.

Admitting she did feel a bit bad as the toddler seemed 'hard to control', she asked fellow Redditors if she was the a*shole in the situation, and a large majority of people were on her side.

The mom was struggling having her son on her lap for the flight (Getty Stock)

"She’s [the a*shole] for not buying a seat for her son and assuming someone else would give up a seat they paid for," one person replied.

Another person who was on her side applauded the woman for buying an extra seat.

"I hope it doesn't sound condescending to say, but good for you buying the extra seat," they wrote. "You being the sort of conscientious person who will spend the extra money to avoid encroaching on others is probably why you are having (needless) self-doubt about the encounter."

A different person argued: "You paid for the seat, you get the seat. If she wanted a seat for her son, she should’ve paid for it."

While the vast majority of Reddit users supported the woman, one wrote: "Flights overbook all the time, especially during the holidays - how can you justify having two seats to yourself?"

What do you think?