The forbidden plane seat no one is allowed to sit in
An airplane seat that no one is allowed to sit in has left travelers scratching their heads.
A photo of the forbidden seat - taken by eagle-eyed passenger Sven Wöste aboard a Croatia Airlines flight - shows it bearing the warning 'DO NOT OCCUPY THIS SEAT' stitched in white lettering.
Wöste snapped the image of seat 31E while sitting in the last aisle of the Airbus A220-300.
He was also told by a flight attendant there was no seatbelt attached.
'Made no sense for me because the mounting for the belt was there,' he said. 'Should have been easier to fix a seatbelt than do that stitching work.'
Wöste posted a photo of his find in a Facebook group, leading puzzled viewers to offer up their own theories.
'Probably like an extra emergency seat for an airline worker or someone that absolutely needs to be on the flight when it's booked full,' one person wrote.
'A lot easier to keep people out of a seat with no seatbelt, and they probably do have the extra belt stored on the plane to install if someone needs the seat.'
A photo of the forbidden seat shows it bearing the warning 'DO NOT OCCUPY THIS SEAT' stitched in white lettering
Eagle-eyed passenger Sven Wöste snapped a photo of the seat while on the Croatia Airlines flight
Another commenter, who said they worked in aircraft maintenance for 15 years, said 'there's many reasons' why the seat would need to be unoccupied and suggested it is likely 'just broken.'
'Could be an arm rest or the recline isn't working,' the person said.
'Either way their procedure is to mark the seat and possibly remove the seat belt.'
One commenter suggested that passengers were 'locked out' from sitting there so the airline could save money, suggesting that the plan would need to staff more flight attendants if the number of fliers was too high.
Another person loved the idea of landing a spot next to the off-limits seat.
'The seats are so narrow these days that I could finally sit without bumping elbows with the next person, the commenter wrote.
According to Croatian news outlet Avioradar, the 'phantom' seat needs to stay empty due to 'complex safety regulations' and 'financial feasibility.'
Initially, the Airbus A220-300 was designed to have a maximum of 145 seats, in line with exit regulations that require having four doors and two over-wing exits in each aircraft.
Wöste posted a photo of his find in a Facebook group, leading puzzled viewers to offer up their own theories
If a passenger was allowed to sit in the plane's 150th seat, the aircraft would need four total over-wing exits
Initially, the Airbus A220-300 was designed to have a maximum of 145 seats in line with exit regulations
In 2021, Airbus received approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to increase its seating capacity to 149 on each aircraft.
In order to maintain safety with the new capacity, the evacuation slides for the over-wing exits had to be modified to include two descent lines rather than one.
If a passenger was allowed to sit in the 150th seat, the aircraft would need four total over-wing exits, which would create a huge financial burden.
A seat map of the plane also shows that the aircraft is missing Row 13.
'That way nobody who thinks that the number 13 is unlucky has to sit in that row,' the airline said.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Croatia Airlines for more information.
