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Social media was abuzz after a mother exposed a plane passenger, identified as . The effect of the exposure, however, was contrary to what the mother expected and brought fame and support to the passenger. What is also on her side are aeronautical and consumer rights.
According to lawyer Renata Belmonte, a specialist in the field, no one is forced to make this exchange. “Since 2016, the seat has become an accessory, which means that now you either pay to reserve your seat, or you go to a random seat chosen by the airline,” he explained in a video posted on TikTok.
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She points out that there are two possibilities for the person to get the window seat: either they paid for it or they were lucky enough to be placed in that seat by the airline.
However, there are some occasions when the passenger is forced to change seats. Consumer law specialist, Karoline Fleury Morais explains that this may occur for “security, logistical or general comfort reasons of the aircraft”.
“The crew can request to change seats in situations that involve, for example, balancing the aircraft, accommodating passengers with special needs or even relocating to a higher category seat (upgrade). Therefore, unless justified by the crew, the passenger is not legally obliged to change seats”, he details.
She also points out that the mother who filmed the passenger could have been removed from the plane by order of the person responsible for controlling the aircraft. For this, it would be enough to establish that the person’s conduct was “harmful to the safety, privacy or comfort” of another.
“Recording, especially if done without consent and in an invasive manner, can constitute a violation of rights to image and privacy, protected by articles 5, items X and V of the Federal Constitution, as well as by articles 20 and 186 of the Civil Code. The airline, in these cases, has a duty to actively intervene to preserve the rights of the exposed passenger, prevent the conflict from escalating and protect the comfort and safety of everyone on board.”
Karoline also reinforces that Jeniffer Castro can seek compensation for moral damages against the passenger who filmed her. “This action may be based on the embarrassment and damage to honor suffered due to undue exposure”, he explains.
Understand the case of Jennifer Castro
A plane passenger gained fame on social media after being exposed in a video made by an outraged mother. In the recording, the woman criticizes the young woman, identified as Jeniffer Castro on social media, for refusing to change seats with her son, who was crying during the flight. The scene, originally published on TikTok, generated controversy, but ended up generating support for the passenger, who already has more than 300,000 followers on her social networks.
In the video, the mother complains that the young woman did not agree to change seats so that the boy, who was scared, could sit by the window and calm down. “She didn’t want to exchange with the child, who is nervous. Just because you don’t want to change places. I asked if she had a syndrome, anything. If she had a problem, we would understand. You have no empathy with people”, said the author of the video.
Despite the criticism, the young woman did not respond to her mother and only asked if she was being filmed. Even so, the record ended up on other platforms, such as X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, where internet users reacted to the situation. The majority stood by the passenger, criticizing the mother’s attitude. “That’s what they always say: your child is only special to you,” commented one user. “The girl is more than right. She paid for the window seat and has no obligation to give it up because of a spoiled child,” said another.
