X User Calls Out "Educated" Co-Passenger For Leaving Trash On IndiGo Flight: "Mindset Is The Issue"

Swapnil Srivastav, founder of sustainable kidswear brand Kidbea, has triggered a debate around civic responsibility after sharing an unsettling experience aboard an IndiGo flight. In a post shared on X, Srivastav described sitting next to a well-dressed co-passenger who, after finishing a snack, casually placed the empty wrapper under the seat in front of him instead of holding on to it for proper disposal.

The act, though seemingly minor, struck a deeper chord with Srivastav. He pointed out that despite regular announcements and efficient in-flight service, where cabin crew actively collect trash from passengers' tray tables, the hidden waste remained unnoticed and was likely left behind even after the flight landed.

"He finishes his snack. Looks at the trash in his hand. And places it on the floor under the seat in front. Not accidentally. Deliberately, the cabin crew came through for trash collection and did their job perfectly. Collected from everyone's hands and every tray table, the stuff on the floor, easy to miss from that angle, stayed. We landed. His cups and food box were still sitting there on the aircraft floor," Srivastav recounted in his post. 

He further argued that it reflects a deeply ingrained "not my problem" mindset that persists even among individuals who appear educated and socially aware. "This isn't about awareness anymore," he suggested, adding that the problem lies in entitlement, where people assume that maintaining cleanliness in shared environments is someone else's responsibility.

Srivastav noted that the same attitude often extends to roads, parks, and other common spaces. "Most people in India have unconsciously decided that shared spaces, flights, roads, parks, footpaths, are not their responsibility. Someone is paid to clean it. Someone will handle it. Me? I'm just passing through. And that mindset is exactly where the problem begins. Because civic sense isn't just about what you do. It's about what you normalize. Every time someone litters and nobody reacts, the bar drops a little lower," he added.

See the post here:

Something small happened on my flight yesterday.

IndiGo flight. Sitting next to a guy, well put together, well dressed. The kind of person you'd point to and say “educated, aware.”

He finishes his snack. Looks at the trash in his hand. And places it on the floor under the seat… pic.twitter.com/p2LdPs0PtH

— Swapnil Srivastav (@theswapnilsri) April 11, 2026

The post went viral, with many social media users echoing his concerns. Several users argued that academic qualifications or professional success do not necessarily translate into good manners or civic discipline. Others shared similar instances. 

One user wrote, "Had a guy who spit on the road, and when my friend confronted him, he asked if the road was built by her dad. That guy is doing his PhD and is also a professor now. Let that settle in."

Another commented, "Could not agree more!! Recently, I was traveling home by train. There was a family of 4 to 5 women. When their child girl wanted to put plastic waste in a dustbin, her mom told her to just throw it onto the tracks, saying that cleaners are hired to take care of it."

"Saw a well-dressed gentleman in a suit, shoes polished, well-groomed; all of that went down the drain when he suddenly stopped and pissed on the side of the road around a construction site, openly with CISF around. Yes, I saw this at the Mumbai airport," added a third. 

A fourth stated, "It's hopeless to even expect change in the mindset of Indian masses, the education is focused on just earning money and flaunting of status, civic sense will become not optional, but an afterthought." 

A fifth summed it by saying, "You have described it exactly as it is! Mindset is the issue. Someone will clean it up."