20+ Stories About Flights That Neither Passengers Nor Cabin Crew Will Soon Be Able to Forget

Perhaps every person who boards a plane dreams of one thing only — to reach the destination on time and in peace. And pilots and flight attendants are always happy to see polite and trouble-free passengers. But in reality, things often turn out differently.

• I once was sitting right in front of 2 kids on the plane. They were screaming, and the father decided to calm his son down by giving him a harmonica. A harmonica! To a 7-year-old child!
  The boy, of course, didn’t know how to play it and started making horrible noises. But that’s not all. His sister began to sing along just as «nicely.» The flight attendant couldn’t stand it and took the toy away after 5 minutes.
• My mother is a flight attendant, and one thing I always hear her complain about is how people try to stack all the little plastic cups and bowls that come with the meal. Those trays go into the cart as they came out, meaning nothing is stacked, and there is no overhead for it to enter unless she unstacks it, which as you can imagine is not fun. Yes, the intention is nice, but still... © Tsunami6866 / Reddit
• I bought an e-ticket, checked in. I take my seat in the plane. A big man comes up to me and starts yelling that I’m sitting on his seat. I say, «Let’s see. Maybe I made a mistake.»
  I compare the tickets, and we have the same seat. And then the flight attendant comes over, apologizes for the mistake and gives me a seat in business class. What a luck!

• Former flight attendant here... 15 years, I’ve seen it all! Some passengers walk throughout the aircraft barefoot. Especially into the toilets... Those floors are not as clean as you think they are!
  © Helfsich / Reddit
• I was on a flight and this tall guy spent about half the flight standing at the front of the plane doing stretches, staring at the crowd in front of him, and talking loudly to the person sitting next to him. People would get up to go to the toilet, and he would seem surprised like, «Oh, you need to get by? Okay, let me squeeze my huge body back into my aisle, even though I could simply sit down.»
  The same thing would happen when the person came out of the toilet. This was repeated multiple times. I realize flying is tough for tall people, but I think the whole plane wanted to shout, «Sit down!» © BaconReceptacle / Reddit
• It’s irritating when people poke or grab at me to get my attention! But for real, don’t poke people! Especially if I am speaking to another passenger. I can see you waving at me, I’m not going to interrupt my assisting someone else because you want me to take your trash, just give me a second and I’ll come to you next.
  Once I was so irritated at someone’s incessant poking, I turned, looked them in the eye and poked them right back and said, «What do you need?» © dazey_chain / Reddit
• The best passenger is the one that tells me what they want in their coffee or tea or cold drink without me having to ask them! For all you, reading this: next time a flight attendant asks you what you would like to drink: be specific. A coffee with one milk and three sugar, a coke with ice on the side, water with a splash of cranberry. Whatever your poison, just tell us how you want it served so we can save our breath and move on to the next person. © doordonot19 / Reddit

• I’m a current airline captain and flying for over 12 years. It’s really frustrating when passengers take safety equipment home. It may seem innocent, but we have to have a minimum amount of safety cards, life jackets on board, etc. Every time one goes missing, or we fall below the minimum amount, it’s a phone call to maintenance.
  One time a pax inflated the life jacket on board, caused an hour delay once we landed after getting the police involved for damage and phone calls to maintenance and company. © Jpinlondon / Reddit
• I’ve had some cuss out the flight deck about their abilities because the aircraft hit wake turbulence. If you can magically see wake turbulence on a tiny monitor and think you can do a better job, then join a flight academy, pay several thousand dollars for the training and certification and do it yourself. © Helfsich / Reddit
• I’d say one of the most irritating and annoying things is when people ignore or fight our instructions concerning safety regulations. I do not enjoy telling you that you can’t have your bag in an exit row, that you need to put your important laptop away for takeoff and landing and that you should stay seated when the seatbelt sign is on. And no, it is not negotiable. © Airsteps350 / Reddit
• I’m not a flight attendant or pilot but traveled frequently for work for several years. The single most baffling thing about passengers is how many people can’t wrap their brains around packing their stuff into the overhead bins. Why is it so hard? If your jacket or handbag can’t fit, put it under your seat. Why are you standing there like a complete waste of space trying to shove your item into an already crammed bin. © WATTHEBALL / Reddit

• My husband and I were sat next to a girl who had a beautiful bouquet of flowers in her lap. No one around us complains at all and everyone is very chill, until a woman, who was late to board shows up, sees the flowers, and starts kicking off about allergies. Finally, she demands that the girl should be moved to a different seat at the back of the plane.
  The flight attendant takes a look at the woman, looks at the 3 of us, and walks away. After 5 minutes, she comes back. She stops at our row, very loudly announces, «Today is your lucky day, I just checked, and we have one spare seat in first class, so you’ve been upgraded!»
  The woman is livid and instantly starts complaining about why she wasn’t given the free upgrade. The flight attendant ignores her, we wish the girl a happy flight. It was absolutely the best form of justice I’ve ever seen with any sort of travel. © amzitosnup / Reddit
• We (flight attendant) don’t get annoyed at you for going to the bathroom during descent because you are breaking the rules. We get annoyed because we know how dangerous it is and risky and don’t want to do additional paperwork when you get injured. After working 4–5 flights a day 3–5 days a week for 8 years, I have a lot of experience of turbulence during descent plus rough landings if you don’t come out in time. © mrsbeequinn / Reddit
• I’m a flight attendant. Today on a flight a girl was crying for a long time, my patience broke, I walked over and asked her what was wrong. She told me that she had an important meeting right at the airport, and she had forgotten her makeup bag at home.
  The girls and I decided to help her and did her makeup. We even braided her hair. We felt like fairy godmothers at the time!
• It’s annoying when people ask me for directions in the airport. Where is baggage claim? Do you know how to get to the highway? Where’s the rental car boot? Which gate is going to Chicago and is my flight in time?
  I don’t know. Chances are, I’m not really even sure what city I’m in when you ask me, let alone where your gate is. © poser765 / Reddit

• I am a pilot. I usually stand by the cockpit after a flight and say goodbye to the passengers as they walk out. Many people ask me how old I am. It doesn’t bother me much, I’ll even be sad if they stop doing it.
  But I don’t like it if they try to pat me on the back or pinch my cheek. Seriously, I’m not your grandson, I’m your captain. © Airport_Hobo_ / Reddit
• Once I was on a plane, people started getting up as we were moving toward the gate. Apparently the pilot was informed of this, he hit the brakes, and some passengers fell into the aisle. The captain announced into the microphone that the plane wouldn’t move until people returned to their seats and fastened their seatbelts. The offenders complied, and the others sat silent, like little children being yelled at by their father. © AhFFSImTooOldForThis / Reddit
• I once saw a flight attendant walking past a very sad little girl and asked what was wrong. Her mum explained that her child was flying for the first time. The little girl wanted to look out the window, so they specifically bought a window ticket for her, but the seat happened to be next to the wall. The flight attendant calmed her down, walked around the plane and found people who agreed to switch seats with us, and then helped us move our things. The girl was absolutely happy.
• My wife works at the ticket desk for a major airline. Once, a college athlete showed up late to a flight, was told she couldn’t board, so she started yelling, screaming and cursing all employees. The competition she missed the flight to was Olympic tryouts. How late was she, you ask? She showed up 2 hours after the flight left. © Tthelaundryman / Reddit

• I’m a pilot, I’m fortunate enough to have a reinforced door that separates me from the traveling public, but the following things still stand out in my mind. For example, someone can stop me in the terminal to ask for information about your flight. I do not possess universal knowledge of every single flight for every single airline. Direct your attention to the departure boards, or just Google your flight number. © PlaneShenaniganz / Reddit
• I was on a plane flying home from the resort. And then the pilot sullenly announces, «Dear passengers, unfortunately, they forgot to refuel our aircraft...» Dead silence. People are looking at each other in horror. After about 3 seconds, he continues, «... with hot water. So there will be no hot drinks on board.»

And here’s an article about airplane passengers who witnessed something they would remember for a lifetime.