A woman who was traveling in a domestic flight in China refused to take down her bare feet from the tray table even though there were repeated requests from flight attendants. The woman, along with another female passenger, were traveling on a China Southern Airlines flight from Nanning to Harbin on October 28 when they both decided to kick back and relax, much to the disgust of the other passengers.

One man, who filmed the entire thing, said the women argued with other passengers and the cabin crew while claiming that they could not put down their legs because they "had injured their feet during ballet practice". Internet user Haidelan_BH uploaded a video showing the woman in question sitting next to the aisle sleeping with her bare feet resting on the tray table.

The woman in the middle seat could also be seen with her feet, albeit in socks, upon her table. The man said in his Weibo post October 29: "After the people in front of the two aunties complained, they had the audacity to put their feet on their armrests!"

The man added that the flight attendants had politely tried to offer the women different seats but they both refused and insisted they could not move. The women replied saying they had to do this because they had injured themselves during ballet practice.

The man said other passengers began complaining of a bad smell coming from their feet: "They even accused other passengers of lacking empathy and compassion!" He added: "The plane is a public place, you can't do whatever you want and cause suffering to other people." China Southern Airlines told the Beijing Youth Daily in a statement that it has launched an investigation.

The video has since gone viral on the Chinese social media site with many users slamming the "uncivilized" women. One user said: "I feel so embarrassed for the two women!" Another commented: "I can smell their stinky feet through the screen!" A third user said: "They should be blacklisted from flying! The table is for placing food and drinks, not your feet!"

Many called for both the women to be punished by lowering their social credit system scores. The system, which was implemented in 2014, keeps a running score based on the day-to-day behavior of the Chinese people. Those who have a low score will be punished by being banned from borrowing loans, buying real estate, and traveling on flights.