16 Airplane Stories That Are More Dramatic Than a Brazilian Soap Opera

We tend to think of an upcoming flight as of a few hours of boredom. This is why we download movies, take a book, or plan to just sleep. But sometimes life throws up such plots that no screenwriter could come up with. An ordinary flight turns into a film set for a few hours, where a comedy or a real drama unfolds.

• I was on a flight going on vacation. When I got up from my seat, I accidentally bumped into some young guy. He said, “I’m used to fans doing that. Want an autograph?” I turned him down, since I had no idea who he was. He laughed. Later I decided to look him up online. Turned out he was either just joking or really was some teen idol. I never did manage to find out. © Overheard / Ideer
• I was on a flight, sitting by the window, when the plane hit turbulence. Suddenly I felt the man next to me grab my hand and say, “Honey, don’t worry, everything’s fine!” I was stunned, since I was traveling alone. Then I saw that he had gone pale, and realized he’d gotten so nervous that he mistook me for his wife, who was actually sitting on his other side. I just smiled quietly so his wife wouldn’t notice. Turned out he was a very sensitive man.

• I was boarding a plane, and the man in front of me suddenly froze, trembling all over. I asked what was wrong, and he said he had never flown before and was scared. Somehow they got him seated and we took off. Then we hit turbulence, and the shaking was so bad that even frequent flyers were frightened. At one point I heard a piercing female scream. After we landed, I asked the man if he’d heard that woman screaming. He replied, “That wasn’t a woman, that was me.” © Word Into***ation / ADME
• There was this kid was behind me that kept telling her dad she lost her tooth and the dad was disgruntledly trying to find it, and some guy nearby said, “Hey kid, I hear if you lose your tooth on a plane, the tooth fairy gives you 50 bucks” to which the dad replied, “Hey look, sweetie, the tooth fairy decided to sit next to us on the plane!” © monkeysolo*** / Reddit
• I was on a plane when they started serving dinner. I unfolded my tray table, and suddenly a macho guy in front of me reclined his seat so sharply I almost choked! I asked him not to do that. He grumbled, put the seat back up... and then reclined it again. And again. And again. That’s when it hit me — I must have annoyed him by poking at the screen on the back of his seat while choosing a movie. This was his revenge. © ksenglicious / Threads

• I took my seat, pulled out my headphones and everything else I might need. People were still boarding. Next to me sat an elderly couple. The woman, in a bossy tone, told me to put my bag under the seat because “those are the rules for takeoff.” Except the plane was still boarding. I ignored her, since I knew the flight attendant would check before takeoff anyway. The couple started bouncing in their seats from anger. I slowly stuffed my things into the seat pockets, pretending not to notice them. Then the old man leaned across his wife and started yelling at me to put my bag away. I was stunned, but kept a straight face. When boarding was done, the flight attendant came down the aisle to check. I handed her my bag, she put it in the overhead compartment. I still don’t know what that was all about. © doll_ru_ / Threads
• Pilot accidentally left the intercom switch on. The whole plane heard him say, “Oh, that’s weird.” Nothing else. Plane took off amid varying levels of anxiety throughout the cabin. I’m here to tell the tale today, so thankfully it wasn’t too weird! © Traffodil / Reddit
• I was flying to the UAE for work when I fell for a flight attendant on board. She was so beautiful I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I wanted to compliment her but felt too shy, so I just smiled at her every time she walked by. After dinner, I was listening to music when someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was her. I tensed up, thinking she had noticed me staring, but she leaned in and whispered, “You have a very sweet smile!” I was over the moon, and even after the plane landed, I felt like I was still flying from happiness. © Chamber 6 / VK

• I was sitting next to a dad and his daughter who was about 5. He was super cool and was chatting away while his daughter started talking to me. She was so sweet and bubbly. And gave way too much information to me. She said something along the lines of “I went to my grandma and grandpa’s house and they’re married, I wish my dad would marry my mom but they can’t talk to each other but I always wish they were married like my grandma and grandpa.” Her dad would have been horrified. And I was just sad. © lpcoolj1 / Reddit
• I was flying back from vacation with my mom when I was 9. The flight was 13 hours non-stop, the seats were packed tightly, and I was dying of boredom, so I decided to go meet the flight attendants. They talked to me, gave me all kinds of desserts that they serve on planes, and kept me entertained. My mom knew where I was and that I was fine. They asked me if I’d been in the cockpit, and I said no, but that it had always been my dream. They immediately took me there. I was over the moon! It was already dark, they turned on the lights, let me hold the controls and press buttons. I sat there with headphones on. It was absolutely amazing! © Caramel / VK

• I was flying business class once, the kind where the seats fully recline for comfort. I booked late and had to choose a seat in a spot I didn’t like at all. I sat down, and a man immediately came over, asking me to give him my seat so he could sit in the same row as his family. I agreed, moved to his seat, which turned out to be in a much better location than mine. As I was getting settled, a woman by the window saw me and loudly exclaimed, “I asked not to have anyone sit next to me!” I explained that a man was originally supposed to be in that seat, but we had swapped. She called a flight attendant. The attendant repeated the same explanation, but the woman insisted she didn’t care. Of course, I sat down, only to find that she had taken my blanket, cosmetic bag, and pillow — all provided to business passengers. I thought, “Why is she so arrogant? She could have bought 2 seats and not complained.” Then I realized she probably hadn’t even paid for the seat herself, as she’d spent half the morning typing a memo. Looks like she was flying on company money — but her crown sure grew the second she sat down. © tina_platonova / Threads
• I was on a plane — a domestic flight, but it lasted a whopping 7 hours. And, of course, I ended up next to passengers who had only traveled by train before. How did I know? Because they started pulling out sandwiches and foil-wrapped chicken! Thank goodness there weren’t any boiled eggs at least. Then the woman kept bothering me with nonstop conversation while her companion snored through the entire flight. Those were the worst 7 hours of my life! © Chamber 6 / VK
• I was sitting on a plane, working on my phone before takeoff. My neighbor kept glancing at my screen, clearly annoyed. Then she actually dug out her own phone to show me the “airplane mode” icon, like, “Hey, turn yours off.” I ignored her. Half an hour passed, and we were still on the ground. Soon they started prepping for takeoff, so I turned on airplane mode and dimmed my screen so it wouldn’t bother anyone. The neighbors were furious; they even called a flight attendant to check if my phone was in airplane mode. She came over, I showed her everything was fine. The whole flight, those neighbors huffed and grumbled angrily. © sofi.kobzareva / Threads

• We were flying back from Turkey. A young couple was sitting behind us — tanned to perfection. At first, the guy put on a little show: “I’m not sitting in my seat, I don’t care about safety rules or what the pilot says.” Somehow, the flight attendant managed to get him to sit down. Soon his girlfriend joined in. She pulled out a bottle and, announcing, “Hey everyone, check out the amazing perfume I bought!” and sprayed a generous cloud of it around. © Ilona Staller / ADME
• We were flying back from vacation. The landing was smooth, but as soon as the wheels touched the ground, a woman started clapping so loudly and so solo that everyone turned to look. The pilot must have heard her over the intercom, because he announced funnily, “Thanks, Mom.”
• I was flying home recently. Behind me sat an elderly woman who kept jabbing my seat and demanding that I not recline because she didn’t have enough space. She clearly couldn’t care less that every seat on the plane has that function and everyone has the right to use it. After a while, I went to the restroom, and when I came back, I found her foot on my armrest. © vkfirs / Threads

When it comes to air travel, safety takes top priority. If certain aspects of the in-flight experience seem odd, there’s likely a well-thought-out reason behind them. One of such in-flight procedures that people commonly misunderstand is dimming the lights in the cabin when a plane takes off or lands. And no, it’s not done to help you sleep better in the cozy darkness. Read more to find out the surprising and terrifying reason behind this action. And in the bonus section, you’ll find the explanation for 2 more common actions done by a cabin crew, which people often misinterpret.