The latest flight etiquette debate is about the most respectful way to exit a plane — and TikTok viewers are divided

• Videos showing different methods of exiting a plane have caused a stir on TikTok.
• Some viewers thought passengers should leave by row and not prioritize themselves.

Debates about seat-switching on planes have been a hugely viral topic on TikTok for months, but now, some creators are complaining about another element of a typical plane journey — how to navigate your way off the plane after landing.

Some TikTok users have been complaining about the huge rush that typically happens once the plane has landed and passengers are ready to disembark, often resulting in a free-for-all of people trying to collect their belongings and exit the plane ahead of others.

On July 22, TikToker Quincy Philbin, who has over 215,000 followers on the app, posted a video showcasing her own solution to this issue. In the clip, a man could be seen standing in the aisle of a plane with a queue of people behind him. In an on-screen caption, she explained her boyfriend stood up and blocked everyone so she could get off in front of him. She described the behavior as "very simple but very sweet" and said he'd been doing it since they started dating.

The upload quickly took off with over 2.1 million viewers, as over 450 commenters rushed to give their mixed views on the gesture.

While some heaped praise on the boyfriend and applauded him for giving his girlfriend priority over strangers, others were baffled as they felt this was such commonplace behavior on a flight that it was hardly worth mentioning. "The most normal thing ever," one viewer wrote, receiving over 7,200 likes.

However, some viewers felt it was disrespectful to other passengers, as everyone was in an equal rush to get off the plane, and those who prioritized their loved ones were holding up the line.

"Not me thinking it's actually a rubbish thing to do for all the other people waiting to leave the plane too...," one viewer wrote in a comment that received over 970 likes, which prompted another viewer to suggest the best method to keep the peace was to let passengers unboard the plane aisle by aisle.

Earlier this month, another TikToker, @mickeyyyt, made a similar argument to advocate for people getting off one row at a time. On July 4, she posted a TikTok showing a bunch of passengers on her flight standing behind her and crowding around to try and get off the plane first.

"Since when did airplane etiquette of getting off the plane row by row end!?!?!" an on-screen caption on the post read.

"Aren't we all going to the same place?" the user reasoned in another caption under the clip, which received 2.4 million views.

A number of commenters expressed agreement with the TikToker, saying they've personally found the hurried behavior of other passengers annoying when they've been traveling.

"My biggest pet peeve," read one top comment with 30,000 likes.

Meanwhile, some commenters defended the need for some people to rush, saying they might be trying to catch a connecting flight.

Other commenters said that people rushing to get off is such a common experience that they have stopped questioning other passengers, and have either joined in trying to push their way through the crowds, or just simply waited for everyone around them to leave before getting out.

"I have never seen it go row by row. It doesn't board row by row either. So idk why people expect this. Either push your way in or wait patiently," one commenter suggested.

Flight etiquette is a hugely popular topic on TikTok. Several creators have gone viral after taking to the app to share their opinions about common in-flight situations, such as what to do when a family asks you to swap seats so they can sit next to their children, or how passengers should divide up control over the armrests in individual rows.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.