Mitra Amirzadeh, a stewardess based in Orlando, explained that sometimes when an argument erupts between childless passengers and those who want to sit next to their children, she asks the lone traveller to take care of the little one in the place of the mother or father.

She told the Wall Street Journal: "I have said before, ‘OK, so you’re going to watch the toddler?’ You’ll want their snacks and their coloring books then, because they’re going to need that."

But when it comes to couples who have been separated after failing to book a specific seat, Mitra does not intervene in that scenario because she feels that no-one should be "forced" to actually move because they didn't pay for any area in particular.

She added: "The next time you feel yourself getting angry or getting frustrated that you’re not getting the seat you want,’ you need to remind yourself that you didn’t pay to pick your seat. Otherwise, you’d be in it.’."

Of her 10 monthly shifts, Mitra claimed that usually eight of them involve seat-swapping fiascos.

Her comments come amid a debate in which US lawmakers have been to approve legislation to bar airlines from charging family seating fees if adjacent seats are available during booking to avoid hefty reservation fees.