A QUEENSLAND judge has ruled in favour of a man suing an airline after he suffered a back injury from being forced to sit next to an overweight person on the plane.

The man said he was forced to twist his body into a position so he did not touch the overweight man, who was encroaching into his seat.

Read the full story here: Man sues airline after sitting next to overweight passenger

We asked readers on Facebook: Should overweight people pay for two seats on a plane if they take up extra room?

Shannon Sanders - Perhaps they could install "extra large" seat in some rows (2 seats instead of 3) and make large people pay 50% more.

Airlines already measure how much your suitcase weighs, and how big your carry-on luggage is ... so why not start measuring and weighing passengers??
Renée Foulstone - That is a great idea and so true. I think it should be free for people with medical conditions pending on a doctors certificate but others 50% more. If you have to pay another fare for a 2 year old that doesn't even want to have their own seat and sits on their parents knee anyway it's not really a big deal. I would rather be an empty seat away from a mum/dad and child than a morbidly obese person taking up my personal space and feeling sore and uncomfortable.
Jessica Kirkwood - Thats pretty much what business class is
Glen Laurie Hamilton - Sorry if this offends all those that think this is discrimination but we need to get back to a world where this is common practice. I have flown from Townsville to Rockhampton next to a very large man that was a FIFO working in the NT & living in Gladstone. When I got on the plane he had the arm rest up & I could not fit into my designated seat. No spare seats on the flight too. The hostie made him pull the armrest down for take off so that I could fit!!!! Even then he well & truly encroached my seat so that I had to sit squashed up very awkwardly. After takeoff he had to lift the armrest again, to breathe properly I presume. No consideration for me given. Who then takes the responsibility for this situation? Remember this guy is a FIFO so this happens on a regular basis & imagine if you were seated next to him for the full flight Darwin to Gladstone. I am not discriminating, I am asking for a solution as most people would.

Yvonne Anderson - And how does one person decide they are just fat or if they have a medical condition. Be careful what you say people
Sandra Brake - I think they meant that some people are obese due for instance to a glandular disorder. A doctor would know the cause of the weight problem and would either state it as a medical condition or not.
Phil Twiner - Was anyone around 50 years ago that can tell me if there were people walking around morbidly obese due to a glandular disorder? Regardless, it is your condition if you have it. And you should be able to make allowances for other passengers.
Nathan Grindlay - hey its got nothin to do with their weight , i am 6'5 in height and big in general size and yet every time they make new planes they seem to make the space between chairs smaller and smaller
Evelin Macaskill - Omg I can't believe how mean most of you are you lot should be ashamed of yourself hope you all get fat at one point in your lives and get told sorry your to fat you must pay for 2 seats people with medical conditions can't control there wait no matter how much they try I have been on many plane's and traveled around to different places and countries and the seat sizes are very different and some are extremely small if your going to discriminat against people who are over weight how about people with bad body oder or people with bad breath or who snore or take noise kids on a plane I don't think the airline should have forced someone into being squished into a seat that's not right I'm sure they could have found a different seat for him

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