No arguments, cabin crew's word is final

The Hong Kong couple at the center of the an in-flight row aboard a Cathay Pacific flight to London would never have dreamed that their aggressive behavior towards a young mainlander would result in a lifetime ban from the carrier.

Such behavior can lead to severe repercussions and if this had happened on other airlines, they would have reacted similarly.

Cathay says it maintains a "zero tolerance" policy towards disrespectful behavior onboard, but that is only part of the picture.

The major concern is about flight safety as disorder inside the cabin can pose a danger to a flight.

The video footage on mainland social media platform Xiaohongshu was apparently edited and it was not clear how the conversation had started.

Did the couple ask the woman politely to raise the reclined back of her seat, or did they make the request rudely on the first contact?

Nonetheless, the edited segments were clear enough to show the couple behaved aggressively after the woman seated in front refused to raise her seat.

The incident was initially a minor one. Experienced flyers in Cathay's economy class know how unpleasant it can be if the passenger in front reclines the seat to the limit - unless they also recline theirs accordingly, there is little room left.

Considerate passengers avoid reclining to the maximum limit so as not to affect too badly the passengers behind.

The incident on the London-bound flight should have been readily resolved with the help of the flight attendants.

General understanding of the flight rules requires passengers to take the "advice" of attendants - should a situation arise, "advice" becomes an "order."

According to media reports, the mainlander later sought assistance from a flight attendant after the Hong Kong couple sitting behind her hurled verbal insults and shook the back of her seat, in addition to pointing the middle finger at her.

The cabin crew responding to the situation reportedly suggested that she straighten her seat. More often than not, a passenger will oblige such a request.

But, perhaps because of the exchanges that had already taken place, the mainland passenger refused to straighten her seat.

She also argued on social media that she was not obliged to do so as the incident happened in the middle of the flight, not during meal time or landing.

She was wrong - the understanding is not like that. Rather, she should have raised the seat back after being told by a flight attendant to do so.

Whenever a flight attendant makes a request, there is always a good reason for it.

It is believed that when the flight attendant asked her to raise her seat, the crew had flight safety in mind. They were responding to a situation, and the immediate concern was to maintain order on board.

Had the incident taken place before the plane took off, the three - the couple and the passenger seated in front of them - would all have likely been booted off the plane.

First, the couple acted aggressively and, second, the mainland passenger refused to heed the flight attendant's instruction. In a similar scenario, just seek assistance from the cabin crew.

After banning the couple, Cathay should also consider reminding the passenger who was seated in front of them to heed the words of the crew.