EasyJet passenger shocks Twitter with photo of airline's 'backless seat'

6 August 2019, 12:06 | Updated: 6 August 2019, 12:14

By Mared Parry

@maredparry

The airline has been criticised for asking the passenger to delete the photo, and has offered an explanation.

An EasyJet passenger has caused outrage after posting a photo appearing to show someone travelling on a damaged seat without a back.

Matthew Harris Tweeted a picture of a passenger sat on one of the damaged seats on a Luton to Geneva flight earlier today.

He wrote: "#easyjet beats @Ryanair to have backless seats. @IATA @EASA this is flight 2021 Luton to Geneva. How can this be allowed?"

The picture features a row of seats that appear to be completely backless, with an unidentified woman in a striped top sat down in the aisle seat.

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It is not clear if she was sat there for the whole journey, if that was the ticketed seat that she bought, or if she just perched there mid-flight to chat to a friend sat away from her.

An EasyJet spokesperson told Heart: “No passengers were permitted to sit in these seats as they were inoperative awaiting repair.

"Safety is our highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all safety guidelines.”

The tweet has accumulated over 3,000 retweets in the past few hours and it continues to grow in virality - least of all as people are shocked by the budget airline's initial response.

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Their official Twitter account responded almost immediately, but not to check about the seat or to apologise, but to ask Matthew to remove the photo.

Matthew said he "absolutely not" will be removing the photo, and that he was currently on the flight.

One person commented on the thread saying: "If this is genuine then you've reached a new low easyjet... can't be legal."

Another said: "If that's the response to visible safety issues, what is the corporate culture like for things the passengers can't see?"

EasyJet have been replying to these Tweets along with many others with a blanket response, stating: "I'm sorry you feel this way [insert name here], however customers should be confident that they can travel where they want to go safely. Safety is our highest priority."