I pressed the call button for the flight attendant.

— Excuse me, — I said, — this passenger is blocking the aisle and refuses to move her foot. Maybe she should pay for this seat, since she’s using it?

The flight attendant politely but firmly told her off. The woman rolled her eyes and muttered:

— But I’m not sitting here. I’m not going to pay. I have rights.

Then the passenger next to her, who had heard everything, spoke up:

— No, no, you can’t just take someone else’s seat like that. We can make the payment official. I can record it if she refuses.

The woman turned pale. The flight attendant took the opportunity to call the purser.

In the end, she really had to pay for the extra seat, officially, at the current rate. It was almost as much as her own ticket. After that, she finally sat normally.

When the flight attendant left, there was a polite round of applause from the back of the cabin. People smiled and exchanged looks, and the woman across from me quietly said:

— Thank you. I was losing my patience too.