Airlines have been urged to change rules for plus sized passengers after a snap of a traveller on flight went viral online.    

Hip-hop group Pretty Ricky, from Miami, Florida, took to Facebook to share the controversial picture of the man as he attempted to get into his aisle seat on a flight from Helsinki to Copenhagen last year. 

The snap was originally shared by Christopher Elliott, from Washington D.C, who took to his Facebook page, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, to showcase the passenger’s difficulty boarding the flight. 

The mid-2000s Grind With Me hitmakers claimed airlines have a responsibility to ‘have something in place’ to accommodate everyone. 

They wrote: ‘Airlines will have to have something in place for plus-sized passengers. This image was taken recently in a flight showing how difficult it is for people who are bigger than one seat. 

‘It’s also difficult for those sitting next to them. It’s a difficult situation because the airline will need to think of a happy medium.’

The post sparked a debate and racked up over 1,600 comments with many suggesting that bigger passengers should have to pay for two seats if they cannot fit in one. 

One person said: ‘If they take up two seats, they should pay for two seats.’

Hip-hop group Pretty Ricky, from Miami, Florida , took to Facebook to share the controversial picture of the man as he attempted to get into his aisle seat on a flight from Helsinki to Copenhagen last year

Another said: ‘Easily solved, if you are this large, you need to buy two seats OR they should make oversized seats for people like this and charge them extra for the larger seat. Plain and simple. 

‘The reason the majority of large people are large is not a medical reason, it’s personal choices. And those personal choices have ramifications…’

Someone else said: ‘People who buy one seat shouldn’t have to give half of it to someone spilling in to their seat. If anything they should pay half.’

A fourth said: ‘Tall people with long legs have to pay for extra leg room, I see no reason for wide people to be treated differently.’

Another added: ‘As someone who is currently down 90lbs, being largely overweight is a choice 99 percent of the time. 

‘Many overweight people simply lack motivation and drive to lose weight for many different reason, but it comes down to choice. 

‘If you choose to be larger and impede others space significantly like this, it’s your responsibility to buy another seat to accommodate this. 

‘There’s no way being this large in a seat like those are even comfortable for people so large, and why be miserable the whole time. It’s brutal.’

Meanwhile others suggested that passengers should be weighed just like luggage before getting on the plane. 

The mid-2000s Grind With Me hitmakers claimed airlines have a responsibility to ‘have something in place’ to accommodate everyone

The post sparked a debate and racked up over 1,600 comments with many suggesting that bigger passengers should have to pay for two seats if they cannot fit in one

Another added: ‘You should simply weigh them like luggage before check-in. If they’re too bulky, they won’t fly unless you buy a second ticket.’

Someone else added: ‘I have to weigh my bags, I think everyone needs to step on the scales!’ 

However others said such an idea was ‘disgusting’ and suggested bigger seats would benefit everyone. 

One person said: ‘You know airline seats being bigger would benefit everybody and I don’t care about lost revenue when big corporations only care about profit over lives unless they are going to get sued. 

‘Life is hard enough for larger people and the food lower income. People can afford is already going through a lawsuit for the health issues it causes.

‘It’s not just they eat too much and should stop. A lot of medication causes weight gain including depression medication and birth control both of which lower income people get prescribed all the time because of the struggles they face. 

‘Don’t just blame the people who struggle. Blame the country that has left them behind in the name of profit at every turn. 

‘They only get to live life once too and these are the horrible struggles they have to face needing some empathy and compassion but getting horrible comments instead. Have some compassion because these comments are disgusting.’

Meanwhile others suggested that passengers should be weighed just like luggage before getting on the plane

However others called out the ‘disgusting’ comments and claimed that bigger seats would benefit everyone

Another added: ‘It’s laughable but very sad at the same time. This is an issue that obese people who travel have been dealing with for years and they have been discriminated against for years by airlines. 

‘They should just start making the newer planes with larger seats that are sporadically set throughout and that would definitely fix the problem as well as a few others. But, for airlines it’s all about the Benjamin’s, not about the comfort or safety of their passengers.’

It comes after a plus size travel blogger hit out at ‘fat phobic’ critics who told her to ‘lose weight’ or pay extra to board planes – and says their suggestions are ‘dehumanising’ her.

Jaelynn Chaney, from the Tri-Cities in Washington, often posts about ‘fighting for fat liberation’ and has even demanded that bigger people should get free seats onboard aircraft.

Now, the 28-year-old has responded to some of the criticism she receives on TikTok, including people telling her to ‘lose weight’ and ‘upgrade to first class’ because of her size.

Some have said that because they have to pay when their suitcase is overweight, Jaelynn should therefore have to shell out more money for extra room on flights.

But she was seemingly offended by this comment and said: ‘So now my body is being compared to luggage? Charging by weight is fat phobic and dehumanising. I’m not a suitcase.

‘Paying extra for luggage is a different issue entirely. Let’s talk about fair, equal treatment for all passengers.’

Jaelynn Chaney, from the Tri-Cities in Washington, often posts about ‘fighting for fat liberation’ and has even demanded that bigger people should get free seats onboard aircraft

Jaelynn – who is reportedly a 6XL (UK size 24) – also condemned those who said she should go on a diet and said it’s ‘not her job’ to shrink herself to accommodate the comfort of other passengers.

She said: ‘Oh so I should just change my entire body to accommodate your comfort? It’s not my job to shrink myself to fit into spaces that were never designed for me in the first place.

‘And let’s not even get into the fact that losing weight isn’t a simple fix, it’s not a one-size fits all solution.’

Others have told Jaelynn that she upgrade to first class on planes but she argues the focus should be on ‘fixing the system, not the people’.

The content creator added: ‘First class is a luxury and guess what? First class isn’t big enough for some fat bodies.

‘The cost is way out of reach for most people and upgrading doesn’t solve the fundamental issue of under-sized seats for fat people in economy. Fix the system, not the people.’

Users also told Jaelynn that she should consider not travelling by plane if she has issues with finding the right seats for her size.

But the TikToker said flying is a ‘necessity’ and that ‘fat people’ shouldn’t be excluded.

‘I’ll just stop living my life because the world isn’t built for me? Flying is a necessity for many people, whether for work, family or travel,’ she said.

‘Telling fat people to just stay at home is not a solution – it’s exclusion.

‘Sure, flying is a privilege, but basic human dignity and accessibility are rights.

‘No one should be excluded from travelling comfortably or safely because of their body size. Let’s focus on equality, not exclusion.’

Jaelynn said that the US government needs to implement a ‘fat equality bill of rights and the fat accessibility act’.