My husband and I were kicked off a plane after landing because an elderly man and his wife wouldn’t let us sit in our row.

My husband and I (both 30’s M and F) traveled home from a vacation and had a very frustrating experience on the plane ride home. I’ve never had anything like this happen on a plane before so I’m wondering if anyone knows the protocol here. <br><br>When we booked our flights, we were assigned seats A and C. The online diagram of the seating arrangement showed the row with an empty seat B between the window and aisle seats. When we got to the gate, we noticed that seat B was now assigned to a passenger. The agent explained that the seats had been changed and a passenger was now assigned to seat B. We were moved to seats A and B. The seat map showed that C and D were now empty. <br><br>When we boarded our plane, an elderly couple was sitting in our row. The wife was in A and the husband was in C. The husband was sleeping and the wife was sitting next to him. I politely tapped her on the shoulder and said “I’m so sorry to bother you. You’re sitting in my seat and the seat next to me. Is there any chance your husband could move over so we can sit together?” The wife replied, “no. Sorry.” <br><br>I went to speak with a flight attendant and asked for their help. The flight attendant said that the seat next to me was empty and I could easily move the armrest up and sit next to my husband. I said that wasn’t the case. The seat next to me was assigned to a passenger and I didn’t think it was right for me to sit in someone else’s seat. The attendant offered to move me to a middle seat in another row or to move me to a row with empty seats if I didn’t want to sit next to strangers. I declined. The flight attendant then went to the row and asked the man to move over. He declined. The flight attendant then offered for the man and his wife to switch seats, and the man again declined. He was unwilling to move out of the window seat, and his wife was unwilling to move from the aisle seat. I don’t understand why they cared so much, but they seemed to feel entitled to have both window and aisle seats. <br><br>The flight was full, and there were no other seats available. The flight attendants were also all on shift and had no other seats available for us. My husband and I were moved to a row with empty seats. We were both pretty upset, and the flight crew was also upset and said that they had never encountered an issue like this. They said that the window and aisle passengers always switch seats if the passengers on either side were together. <br><br>When the flight landed, the flight attendants came over to us and again apologized. They said they were going to make an announcement asking the passengers to remain seated until we disembarked. The husband and I both got up and went to our row. My husband grabbed our bags from the overhead while I picked up my suitcases from the floor. The husband got up and said “I’m not moving.” I said “I’m getting my suitcases.” He then said “I’m calling security, you can’t get on the plane after it lands.” I replied “this is my row. My seat is right there. My suitcase is on the floor.” He again repeated that I couldn’t get on the plane after it landed. He then went to the flight attendant and asked them to call security. The flight attendant told him “she is allowed to be on the plane, she is getting her belongings. This is her row.” He again insisted that they call security and they did. When security came, they asked what was going on. The husband repeated that we couldn’t get on the plane after it landed and get off. I showed them my boarding pass and pointed out the row and said “I’m just getting my suitcases.” The guard then turned to me and asked me to leave. <br><br>I’m so upset. I’ve never had an experience like this before and don’t know what to do. I feel like the flight attendants failed. They should have spoken to the couple and made them move before takeoff. I also feel like the crew failed at the end. They should have stood up for me and backed me up instead of letting the man bully me into leaving. <br><br>Has anyone ever had a similar experience? Did I screw up? I feel like I have no one to turn to.