'I'm plus-sized and wouldn't swap middle plane seat – I don't tolerate fatphobia'

A man has been blasted for refusing to swap plane seats so a six-year-old child could sit next to his father.

He explained how he was travelling from Phoenix in the US to Minneapolis to attend his cousin's wedding - and pre-booked a middle seat for the journey.

When he boarded the plane, he came to learn he was sitting between a dad and his six-year-old son while the mother sat elsewhere on the plane. The 22-year-old said on Reddit: "I am a plus-sized person as I suspect this comes from fatphobia. As I got on and went to my seat, there were already two people in the seats next to me a father and his six-year-old son.

"When they saw me, the father's face dropped although he tried to hide it I sat down and the takeoff went fine except for a little turbulence. However, when the seatbelt sign went off, he first asked if I could swap with him or his son as his son suffers from flight anxiety." Believing this to be a lie, he refused to swap seats and continued watching his in-flight entertainment.

He added: "As someone with real anxiety I think this is a blatant cop out. How can you only feel anxious about flying and nothing else? Just have a drink if you feel a bit nervous! I politely said I would rather not to which he ignored me and went back to his movie."

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But soon after, the young child started crying out to sit next to his mum because he again was feeling anxious about the flight. He said: "The kid started breathing quite fast and talking past me to his dad about how he wants his mom, instead of the dad moving to the mum's seat he asks if I can swap with his wife, this is where I lost it and called him and his son out for wanting to move me away due to their internalised fatphobia."

Wanting to know whether he is in the wrong for refusing to move, he has taken to social media to ask users for their thoughts. In response, one user said: "Flight anxiety is a real and documented thing. Fatphobia... Not so much. Lots of room for mental and emotional maturing."

Another user added: "Booking a center seat for no other reason than you just want to. Being overweight in the tiny center seat, blocking a son from his father. Likely have your fat spilling over the sides of the armrests. Saying that you've got "real anxiety" not the kid's 'fake flight anxiety'. You make everyone around you have to deal with your sh*t choices and then you call them fatphobic."