5 THINGS ABOUT THE MIDDLE SEAT.

There are many cons and few, if any, pros. Here are the rules of the middle seat for those who are stuck there.

1 THE MIDDLE SEAT OWNS BOTH ARMRESTS

The middle-seat passenger gets both armrests, period. Do they have to use them? No. But should they be made available to that cursed soul trapped in airplane purgatory? Yes. It’s not a conversation. It’s not an argument. It’s a given. Offering up both of those tiny little ledges that provide minimal relief is the least that can be done.

2 THE MIDDLE SEAT MUST NOT ANNEX MORE LEG SPACE

Leg space is sacred. Respect the invisible boundaries that extend from the armrests down to the carpet. Note that knocking knees with strangers is also not OK either. Although your arms and shoulders are likely to touch your neighbours’, wrangle your legs together.

3 THE MIDDLE SEAT MUST NOT SLEEP ON ANYONE’S SHOULDER

Using a stranger as a pillow without their permission sends a weird message. Save yourself the embarrassment of waking up mid-drool by focusing on sleeping upright. A travel neck pillow that straps to your headrest might help.

4 THE MIDDLE SEAT MUST BE TAKEN IF TRAVELLING IN A COUPLE

Cursed is the couple who opts to book the aisle and window seat to avoid the centre, leaving a stranger to endure two lovebirds talking and passing things across the row. For the love of all that is holy, don’t split up. Someone be an adult and sit in the middle.

5 THE MIDDLE SEAT SHOULD TIME LAVATORY VISITS WITH THE AISLE SEAT

This one is less of a rule and more of a recommendation for being a good neighbour. If you can, wait until the other passengers in your row get up, for whatever reason, to make your trip to the lavatory. It’s not the end of the world if you have to ask them to get up just for you, but it’s nice to be considerate of timing, particularly if they’re sleeping. Same goes for getting up to rifle through the overhead bin.