‘How Did She Get The Knife??’: Qatar Airways Passenger Sits Through 14-Hour Flight To New York. Then Her Seatmate Turns It Into A Nightmare

A woman’s flight on Qatar Airways turned into a nightmare after her seatmate invaded her personal space throughout the entire 14 hours. The “horror movie”-esque saga has accrued nearly 30 million views in total, sparking a discussion on flying etiquette.

Essie’s (@essiebtravelin) first TikTok in the series shows various clips of her fellow seatmate, an older woman, leaning against her, draping herself over her, spreading her legs to Essie’s side, and engaging in other questionable behavior. In the last clip, the woman is brandishing a butter knife—presumably from dinner earlier—which Essie says she takes as a threat.

Essie captioned the video, “This is why I never want to fly economy again…EVER!!!”

In another clip, Essie shows the woman attempting to lie on the floor, using Essie’s leg as leverage to make herself comfortable. She says the flight attendant was just as shocked and directed the woman to recline in her seat. But in follow-up videos, Essie shows the woman repeatedly trying to spread out on all three seats. A flight attendant tries to correct the woman multiple times, but it appears there was a language barrier.

Essie confirms this in a storytime video, where she says the elderly lady did not speak a lick of English. She explains how she didn’t resort to physical retaliation due to fear of being placed on the no-fly list. So, Essie used social cues and reported the behavior to the flight attendant. Essie also couldn’t move to another seat, as it was a booked flight with no premium or business class available.

‘I Did Not Like How They Handled The Situation’

Essie says she wasn’t entirely satisfied with the flight attendant’s handling of the situation, saying they could’ve done more.

“[The flight attendant] knew what was going on, but nothing was handled,” Essie says. She continues that Qatar Airways has not reached out to her about the situation or apologized.

“Terrible customer service,” she adds. “It is Qatar Airlines’ fault.”

Essie Says The Airline Has Yet To Reach Out

In an email to BroBible, Essie wrote that Qatar Airways still has not reached out to her, despite reporting the incident to the airline.

“I am a frequent traveler and in all my years of flying this has NEVER happened to me,” she said, stating her flight was from Doha to New York.

Essie said she would like the airline to “formally acknowledge the incident, issue a sincere apology, and offer appropriate compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused.”

She also wants to know what actions the airline will take to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.

“I approached this situation with patience and compassion. Despite the elderly woman’s erratic and threatening behavior, I gave her grace and repeatedly asked her, calmly and respectfully, to stop,” Essie said.

She continued that she sought help from the staff multiple times, but nothing was resolved.

“What should have been a routine flight turned into a horrifying experience that left me feeling unsafe, unheard, and unsupported,” she shared. “I share this not just to speak up for myself, but to remind others: no one should have to endure harassment or physical intimidation in silence, especially in a confined space like an airplane. You have the right to advocate for your safety, and airlines have the responsibility to respond with urgency, care, and accountability.”

Viewers Say She Doesn’t Get An ‘Elderly’ Pass

The majority of viewers are on Essie’s side, saying that the lady doesn’t get to be rude just because she’s old. Others agreed that language or cultural differences do not excuse her behavior.

“Yall don’t be doing enough, speak UP, call a flight attendant, stop allowing people to make yall uncomfortable,” one wrote.

Essie addressed these types of comments in another video, saying she didn’t “let” anyone do anything to her. Essie says she maintained her composure instead of retaliating, which she is proud of.

“Unpopular opinion: OLD PEOPLE DO NOT GET A PASS TO BE INTOLERABLE,” another said. “I do not care how many wars you’ve lived through or how many miles you walked with holes in your shoes to get to school in 1952. Acting with common decency is not restricted to the young.”

Another pointed out that the woman holding the knife would’ve been the breaking point. “A knife? The way I would be contacting media saying I was held at knifepoint during my flight and there was NO resolution,” they said.

What Is Proper Flying Etiquette?

Essie was not wrong in thinking the woman was doing way too much on the plane. When one boards a flight, it’s understood that they should follow certain etiquette. So it’s no surprise Essie was upset the flight attendant did not adhere to her responsibility of conflict resolution.

According to an article by TODAY, there are 11 things you should never do on an airplane. Some of these include:

• Don’t hoard the overhead bin space.
• Don’t take your shoes or socks off.
• Don’t bother your seatmates.
• Don’t sprawl out.

And there are several others that revolve around being a good seatmate to other passengers.

Unfortunately, following these rules can be hard for some. For example, on one Southwest Airlines flight, a passenger reportedly removed their clothing and pooped on the seat. In another viral clip, a little girl and her parents faced backlash after she sang unsolicited during a delayed flight.

It seems flying in a tin can 30,000 feet in the air can make people do strange things.

BroBible reached out to Qatar Airways via email for further comment.