Passenger sparks debate after leaving reading light on during dark flight

While people tend to snooze on an after-dark flight, some may opt to use the time efficiently and require the overhead reading light - but this has sparked a debate amongst passengers

A woman has sparked a debate online on whether it's reasonable to keep a reading light on during dark flights. Passengers who have boarded an overnight flight will recognise that the lights are dimmed throughout the cabin to encourage people to snooze.

On the other hand, some people are keen to use their time on board efficiently - whether it's to get work done, read a book, or even undergo a hobby. However, to do these things successfully, they would need to turn on the reading light which lay above a passenger's head.

Taking to popular forum Reddit, a woman questioned whether she'd be unreasonable to keep her light switched on to work on her crochet skill.

Captioning post, she questioned: "Would I be the a**hole to keep my reading light on during an after-dark flight?"

The anonymous Reddit user explained: "So I'm flying home tonight after an extended trip, and can occasionally be a nervous flyer. Usually I'll crochet on my flights as a way to keep my hands busy, and to keep me distracted and calm.

"In general, this isn't an issue because I typically fly during the day, but my flight today has been delayed for more than four hours, so what should have been a mostly daytime flight is now going to occur entirely after dark.

"So what I want to know is would I be the a**hole for keeping my reading light on during the flight so that I can crochet? It's my understanding that every seat has a little light over it for exactly that reason (whether you're actually trying not read or just do something else that requires light, everyone on the plane has one).

"In the past I've had very mixed experiences with this… on one flight it really upset the guy behind me who was trying to sleep, although we later became friends after I loaned him my sweatshirt when he got cold, and on others, I've seen like half the cabin keep their lights on for a majority of the flight."

She went on: "The problem is - I've never been able to figure out if there is an expected etiquette about this issue, or if it's just a read-the-room kind of situation. All I can say is that I've been traveling for over a month, it's Valentine's Day and I desperately want to get home to see my husband, and I've been sitting in the airport for close to six hours when I was expecting it to be closer to one.

"Crochet is my coping mechanism, and I'm so stressed I really feel like I need something to do to get through this nearly three-hour flight," she added.

Seeking advice, the woman continued: "I know my problems are my own, and I'm willing to suck it up if the general consensus is that I would be the a**hole, but honestly, I'm just so lost on this issue.

"In my experience, I've always just dealt with it when someone around me uses their lights, but I've also had people get really upset about me using mine on an otherwise dark flight."

Flocking to the comment section, Reddit users collectively agreed that the original poster was not being unreasonable - and she's allowed to use her reading light.

One person wrote: "Not the a**hole, everyone has their own light for a reason. They make eye masks. I mean you're not putting your gross feet on anybody's arm rest, or playing a video with no headphones. I think you're good."

Meanwhile, someone else said: "Not the a**hole. Those lights are designed to be as least intrusive to others during times where the cabin needs to be mostly dark, like when the flight is during nighttime"

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