were not blocked off
Why would you need to block the seats off?
Can't you read the set allocation on your boarding pass?
So deciphering a seat allocation is above some peoples pay scales.
It used to frustrate me no end that pax could not read or listen to simple briefings and act on those briefings.
I had a plane full of US lawyers on a flight when we had pressurisation failure and the masks dropped down. NOT ONE of the pax put their mask on.