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Passengers asking to switch seats on flights has become a hotly debated topic in recent years.

People are divided on whether asking is cheeky, or whether people who don't swap are selfish. In fact one woman says she was elbowed for an entire flight after refusing to swap with another traveller, while another was sworn at for wanting to stay in her allocated seat.

Now, one airline worker has revealed the unwritten rule around switching seats, but has warned that it will be "unpopular" with passengers.

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Kristie Koerbel has been a flight attendant for over 20 years, and told the Irish Times: "I’m going to be unpopular here. No, you do not have to switch with someone who asks you.

"If you have paid extra for your seat, or even if it is just an inconvenience, you can kindly say no. If it is advantageous, like trading a middle seat for a window seat, or you are happy to help, please go ahead and swap."

That doesn't mean you can't try your luck but ultimately you're not entitled to be annoyed if the answer is no.

Of course saying no can leave people feeling incredibly awkward. One young woman recently took to Reddit to ask if she was wrong for her reaction when a young child took her seat.

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The 22-year-old wrote: “It’s an 8-9hour flight and I’m travelling alone. Leaving my family this time has been hard and I’ve been crying on and off the entire day.

“I had a window seat booked for my flight and I was looking forward to it. When I got there, a child was sitting in my seat and her dad in the middle seat.”

She asked the dad to move, but he initially refused and told her to just take the aisle seat instead.

However, the traveller had paid for the window seat specifically, so she held her ground. Unfortunately, the little girl began to cry after being made to move.

Hundreds of people responded to the post, with most people siding with the young woman.

The top-rated commenter said: "You bought a seat to be able to use it, and the father in this situation knew that the seat he put his child in wasn’t theirs to use. If the father wanted their child to have a window seat, they should have selected one."

Another added: "Kid could sit in the seat until the person who paid for it arrived, but I wouldn't mind if a parent asked for their kid to sit in my seat for takeoff."

Would you switch seats if someone asked you? Let us know in the comments below.

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