Traveling to a new place is usually exciting and full of little joys, from planning outfits to imagining all the fun you’re about to have. But let’s be honest, sometimes the real adventure starts before you even land. Long flights, tired passengers, and shared armrests can bring out some truly unhinged behavior. And every now and then, a fellow passenger does something so strange, so bold, or so unbelievable that it becomes a memorable part of the entire trip.
Recently, someone on X asked, “Flight attendants, what’s the most jaw-dropping thing you’ve ever seen a passenger do?” The question quickly took off, and the responses weren’t limited to flight attendants alone. Travelers, crew members, and frequent flyers all jumped in with stories that ranged from awkward and hilarious to shocking and unbelievable. Keep scrolling to see some of the wildest passenger behavior people have ever witnessed in the air.
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Guys, your religion is your thing, but if you want to use planes etc. - book two seats. The risk is yours, we don't have to listen to your religious whining. Or use the same planes the founders of your religions used when they wrote those chapters....
or just bear it. In my religion, its best to avoid sitting next to a man, but I'm obviously not going to whinge about sitting next to a man on an airplane. It's fine, I won't die, and Allah understands that I can't do anything about it
Load More Replies...we're half the population, bruh, you dont get to banish us to the cootie corner like a 5-year-old
dont worry, the story is fake, I wrote a thing about how its fake and all the issues about it that give it away
Load More Replies...It's an actual part of the orthodox Jewish religion there's a prohibition against a man not married or related to her being around a woman on her period.
Load More Replies...I had a Hasidic Jewish man refuse his meal from a female flight attendant. Another time, a young Jewish man next to me (you could tell by the curly sideburns and yamaka, but he was otherwise dressed normal) was asked by a flight attendant if he needed the male flight attendant to serve him his food. He said it didn't matter. Both of these instances were on international flights.
A jewish representative of a company called Arquimed visited our school once. When we were saying goodbye and shaking hands, one of our female teachers touched his hand and he jumped exactly as if he had been touched by a live wire. We were all shocked, wondering what had happened, and he explained that he was not allowed to touch a woman during that month. Completely unhinged.
I read this exact story several other times. Ethnicities and situations have been changed to protect the guilty.
Oh that was nice of you to explain. I have to do this sometimes when my son is performing ( traditional Native Paiute dancing). People tend to forget it's a child and try to touch him.
A lot of adults think basic good manners don't extend to how you treat children
Load More Replies...Had this happen to me in Uganda. Kids were amazed by my arm hair and blue eyes and younger ones by seeing someone white for the first time. Was visiting a friend in a small village and every time I would go out I had an entourage :)
What is this weird obsession some US people have with touching black hair? It has never crossed my mind, but I grew up with people from everywhere and we did each other's hair so didn't think anything of us having different types of hair and I had to touch them all :-) Nothing special, just different treatments and things you can do.
Why do you make it about US? LIving in the US, I've heard countless stories from people in person who had other people want to touch their hair, and it was never once an American who wanted to do the touching.
Load More Replies..."PAX is a term used in the travel industry to refer to passengers or guests, typically indicating the number of travelers in a booking. For example, "3 pax" means three people are included in the reservation."
Load More Replies...I think it means "flying out of", but I could be mistaken.
Load More Replies...Yes, please stop saving that man's life and bring me my dinner! W*F?? I cannot imagine the entitlement of this man!
Ikr , I’d say something but pretty sure it wouldn’t go down well on this 🤣
Load More Replies...Something similar but not as extreme. Worked outside in summer. Cashier runs out of building saying call for help. Woman had fainted in line. Help arrives, I direct the line to move to the other window and go one , two, one two. Guy steps over the prone woman , who was being actively assisted by emt and says " no way, I am next". We sold hotdogs and drinks.
"I have a can of whoopass. Would you like it from my fist or straight from the can?"
Before the pandemic ever changed the way we travel, air travel was already massive. In 2019 alone, about 4.5 billion passengers boarded flights worldwide, spread across roughly 42 million flights. That averages around 115,000 commercial flights every single day. And that’s before lockdowns and travel restrictions. Once borders reopened, the skies filled up quickly again, and post-pandemic data shows air travel numbers climbing even higher than before.
OK depending on sleep deprivation ... yeah this isn't all that bad. Had a mom once show up to drop off for kindergarten and we had to tell her that her ex had dropped the kid off 20 minutes earlier. She had a newborn and hadn't slept in a couple of days. We had her stay there and called her mom to come get her and the baby because we weren't sure it was safe for her to drive herself.
I was going to say that I definitely forgot my kid briefly once. I was at a chemists (US: drugstore) with my husband and baby in the pram. I walked off to find something on the shelf and my husband came and asked where the baby was. "Oh, I forgot about the baby!". To be fair, she'd only been in our lives for one week and I hadn't slept in the third trimester at all (and obviously hadn't once she was born).
Load More Replies...i leave my kids behind all the time, but the little cretins keep finding me eventually.
I had a coworker who would floss her teeth and clip her fingernails at work. We were teachers!!
OK that's truly odd seeing as meals and snacks on first class are good and also free no matter how much you eat.
Can you imagine how overcooked they were? Probably like rubber bullets
I feel like those poor shrimp would be giant bits of nastiness after a couple of hours. Overcooked shrimp are gross
Clearly, planes are busier than ever, and with so many people up there, you’re guaranteed to encounter all kinds of passengers. There’s the chatty type who treats the cabin like their living room, talking loudly without noticing everyone else is exhausted. Some blast videos or scroll through their phones at full volume, completely ignoring the concept of indoor voices at 35,000 feet. Sleep masks and headphones don’t always help, and suddenly, peace becomes a luxury item. If you’re hoping for a quiet journey, you’re going to need patience… and maybe earplugs.
🤮🤮wow that’s some next level Karen poor kid with a inhuman like that as a mother !
And she swears the earth is flat to , n refuses vaccines doesn’t she lmao tell me she’s a maggot without actually telling me 🤣
Saw a study where they showed that wearing a foil hat focuses the energy into the brain, just like a satellite dish.
Read a brilliant reply on one of those people, compaining about chemtrails and 5G : "congratulations, you have now graduated from tinfoil hat to a full on cast-iron hat"
Because everybody knows radiation can only enter through your scalp.
These folks have been around a long, long time. When I was in high school we used to call them "tin-foil hatties", even though metal foil hadn't been made of tin for many, many decades. They received predictable smirks and derision for their beliefs. I personally knew one who believed that a neighbor's flickering porch light was an attempt by the government to reprogram his mind, and that was his reason for the foil hat.
Well to be fair before September 11th in the US I flew with pocket knives, mace, and all kind of scary things. If this was Alaska Air it's relatively believable. They are crazy chill about stuff most people find alarming.
Load More Replies...I would have thought the petrol would hcve stopped him taking it on the plane.
How did he get that through security? I call bs on a lot of these stories.
Many many years ago I was working for a shipowning company. One of their vessels was in port of Vitoria, Brazil. She was needing underwater cleaning, because her speed had been reduced due to marine fouling. They decided to send by air from Greece to Vitoria via Germany the technician and his hull cleaning machine, because it was cheaper than using a local workshop. The man had emptied and cleaned fuel and luboil but could not extinguish the smell. The machine and its owner got blocked in Germany because Lufthansa refused them. All negotiations with ships owners failed and the man was obliged to return back with his machine.
Then there are the passengers who bring unexpected smells along for the ride. You know the type: they immediately remove their shoes, and sometimes even pull off their socks mid-flight. Occasionally, those socks look like they’ve seen better days, and the odor slowly spreads through the cabin. You’re trapped, seatbelt fastened, with nowhere to escape. It’s a sensory experience nobody signed up for, and it makes you wonder how anyone survives the long haul without gag reflexes on standby.
OK, this sounds weird at first, but we are just another mammalian species. Humans drink milk from several other species and we give dogs and cats cows' milk. Also, how many times have you seen stories of orphaned animals in rescue centres, on farms and in zoos suckling from a different species? The real problem with this one is not that it was getting fed from a human, it's that the pup was clearly too young to have been separated from its mother.
WAIT WHAT 🤮🤮🤮erm call animal control to meet her when you land ! that’s one sick mother f let !
Puppies suckle from their mothers the same way that human babies suckle from their mothers, so there's nothing physically impossible about a woman breastfeeding a pup. Odd, yes, but better than leaving the puppy to go hungry, I suppose.
Load More Replies...Just so people are clear, this is not the situation where you follow Mom's instructions and keep your opinions to yourself. If more Americans who were raised correctly let their opinions be known, maybe this c**p wouldn't happen. Start chanting Shame like it's a n**e Cersei walking through Kings Landing.
I learned from my friend who saw a woman start to change a baby on a restaurant table. She stood up and VERY loudly started shouting, "THIS WOMAN IS CHANGING A BABY ON A TABLE. WHERE PEOPLE EAT! EVERYBODY, CAN YOU BELIEVE THE GALL OF THIS WOMAN WHO THINKS SHE'S IN HER LIVING ROOM. SHE'S CHAGING A BABY. ON THE TABLE!"
Load More Replies...Many do, if not, there is the closed toilet seat ( not great, but more hygienic than the tray table, and more respectful for fellow passengers ).
Load More Replies...I know it's super gross to change a baby on the eating tray. I'm not arguing that this is okay. But that aside, where DO you change a diaper on an airplane? The tiny bathrooms are too tiny, from what I recall.
Laughing way too hard right now and all my students want to know what's so funny
Load More Replies...Some flyers seem determined to complain about absolutely everything. The food is terrible, the seat is uncomfortable, the temperature is all wrong. They grumble about delays that weren’t anyone’s fault, and every announcement becomes a personal offense. Flight attendants bear the brunt of this frustration, while other passengers get dragged into the negativity too.
"Hope you enjoyed our five star breakfast." Then go eat his actual breakfast yourself while making heavy eye contact the entire time.
"please try not to trip on all the fûčķs I give about your "pupetube" dross."
I would come out that lavatory at full throttle. There is a trash can right next to the toilet. Nope! People being f*****g biohazards in a sealed tin can
Then there’s the notorious space hog. The armrest belongs exclusively to them, their legs slowly creep into your seating area, and bags spill over into shared foot space. Elbows appear where they don’t belong, and personal boundaries quietly vanish. You spend the flight shrinking into yourself, trying to occupy the smallest possible footprint without starting a confrontation. Long flights with these people become exercises in patience, yoga-level flexibility, and silent resentment management.
To be fair, there's not a lot of room in the bathroom's. I can barely stand up in them.
Yes, and it's a ten minute wait. And you're stopping someone else from using the bathroom.
Load More Replies...Ok where did the person who tried to open the door think they were going? Like out to take a sky walk on the wing?
In the case I saw: claustrophobia and extreme fear provoked by a psychic who had warned them of danger on that date. S***w mediums. Also it was A320, the noisy flight prep (hydraulics) did not help their issues. I love the noise.
Load More Replies...There should be a rule of all passengers that they have to keep all footwear on during the flight.
I take my shoes off! I'm tall and it gives me an inch and a half of extra room in a cramped seat.
Load More Replies...Well, had I seen it, would have given him a pack of tissues/serviettes whatever asap.
That’s why basic flight etiquette matters more than most realize. You’re sharing a small space with dozens of strangers, and respecting personal boundaries makes a huge difference. Being mindful of noise, keeping your area tidy, and exercising patience helps everyone rest and enjoy the flight. A little courtesy goes a long way, especially when seats are cramped and tempers are short. Kindness costs nothing, but it can make the journey much smoother for everyone on board.
Has to be a young person to doing this. A older person wouldn't be able to pull there foot up to his/her mouth.
I had to test that theory just now. I was able to touch my nose with my big toe, and I'm in my 40s ( also I'm home 😄)
Load More Replies...Clipped off? Beacuse when there still Attached to thz foot thats an whole other level of crazy
My younger sister used to do this. We would tell her how gross we thought it was, but she just didn't care.
Load More Replies...We were about to land in Abu Dhabi when a chap several rows ahead ran towards the loo vomiting as he ran. I was really glad I didn't have an aisle seat. I felt really sorry for the chap in the aisle seat, especially as he was going all the way to Hong Kong.
Why do they let drunks on the plane? Should be an immediate 'not today'.
In the US, it is indeed illegal for the airlines to let someone fly under the influence. My M.O.; just enough THC gummy to stave off motion sickness, not enough to be fully impaired. Stay quiet, follow instructions, have a chill flight.
Load More Replies...If people act like this on a flight once they should never fly again.
Strong smells are another big challenge on planes. Body odor or overpowering perfumes can make people feel nauseous or give them headaches, and enclosed cabins make scents linger. Being fresh and subtle is always the safest approach. A little awareness goes a long way to keeping fellow passengers comfortable, and a little restraint keeps your fellow travelers from silently plotting revenge. Flying is stressful enough without adding sensory attacks to the mix.
Hands up those people who haven't had a walking toddler run away from them. Need a leash.
My grandson had a habit of running off and we got him a backpack and then there's a lead you csn wear on your wrist. That's because my older autistic granddaughter used to also run off. It took at least 2 adults to run errands with them.
Load More Replies...Meanwhile, her bf: "Hey girl, we got maybe 20 minutes, I can get over the finishing line twice in that time, how bout you? You game? I got magic fingers! My gf cant see from where she is sat!"
She does know he sat where he did ON PURPOSE right lmao , omg clingy much ,
Yelling or making demands rarely helps anything. Flight attendants are doing their jobs under pressure, and raising your voice only escalates tension. Delays, rules, and protocols aren’t personal attacks, and calm communication works far better than anger. Courtesy and patience often lead to better outcomes for everyone, and a little self-restraint can turn a stressful flight into a surprisingly pleasant one. Sometimes the best travel tip is simple: stay calm, be respectful, and remember everyone else is trying to survive the journey too.
Also the abbreviation for Helsinki airport, which makes for fun flight codes
Load More Replies...fake story. While during morning prayers they put in a prayer shawl, they dont change their outfits, and there is nothing about white robes during prayers except on the High Holidays and no Orthodox Jew would be traveling on the High Holidays bc it would be against their religion. So they dont change their outfits (fake details 1), no white robes (fake detail 2). The only thing is Orthodox Jews do pray on flights, but if they want to get up in a group, they arrange it with the airline first, otherwise they do it in their seats on their own (except El Al). And Lastly, I don't think there has ever been 70 Orthodox Jews at the Helsikini airport at the same time in its history either
White robes sounds like Yom Kippur - but they wouldn't fly on YK. So that's weird! Unless it was just their tallitot (prayer shawls).
Well I'm pretty sure the Jewish faith doesn't really have hell. They have kind of a spiritual cleansing thing in the afterlife but not a big old burn eternally hell.
Load More Replies...Not a flight attendant . I always feel sorry for parents flying with babies or toddlers. I have seen attendants being so helpful and kind--even one who took a crying infant to walk and rock it so mom could have a break.
There should be child free flights available. Maybe first thing in the morning or last flight of the day.
When I am obscenely rich, I'm starting Childfree Air. And Childfree Cinema, Childfree Diner, Childfree days/nights at museums/amusement parks... (There actually is a local museum that does 21+ date nights)
Load More Replies...Don’t plastic bags have warnings on them that say DO NOT PLACE OVER HEAD 🤣
These posts really show just how wild and unpredictable people can be when traveling. It’s a reminder that flying isn’t always glamorous—it can be hilarious, frustrating, and sometimes downright bizarre. Have you ever encountered a traveler like this yourself? How did it go, and how did you handle the situation? Share your stories, because sometimes surviving air travel is an adventure in itself.
I like to f**k with these people. "Oh everyone I'm a doctor and this lady is in shock! She needs an epi pen right now, stabbed straight thru the chest like that crazy scene in Pulp Fiction! But this needle is too long, and I'm worried about puncturing her heart after I punch through the chest plate. My God she's gonna be in pain tomorrow. OK, everyone ready?!" Watch her sit up with the fear of God in her eyes.
I just grab the hand of the person faking the seizure, hold it over their face and let go. If they move to avoid being hit it's fake.
Load More Replies...I know it is gross to eat buggers but I read a article that there is something in buggers that helps your immune system. Wish I had the link and know how to add it to my comment.
Airline CEOs should be required to take a flight incognito across country at least once a week - in economy. I bet a lot of things would change on the airlines.
Bored panda should be required to proofread for grammar and spelling in reddit posts before they reshare them in these lists...
I'm not sure how BP would be able to edit others posts, from a completely different website, of which they're copied and pasted from? Even if they could, this is BP and it's not going to happen, welcome. We're lucky if the photos somewhat go along with the posting.
Load More Replies...That's a very British thing to say. And specifically to people born in the 70s/80s 😅
Load More Replies...I did worse. I didn't ring the call light and squashed it with my foot. Accidentally.
Was it next to the sanitary pad? How many these posts from one bored kid pretending to be a FA?
It's mean to help people cope with the loss of an infant. I do not think this is a good idea, but to each his own.
It seems like this would prolong their grieving process, but I've never lost a baby.
Load More Replies...Had a fellow start to loudly argue with his seat mate (wife? GF?). Attendants calmed him down. We start to pull away from the terminal and he gets up and wanders up and down the aisle grumbling. Will not sit down. Back to the terminal and three stern, armed Swiss cops board and take him away.
I have to get this out, I am still so ashamed 10 years later. I am usually extremely polite, smiley, and nice to almost everyone. I'm unconfrontational and know they have a tough job so try to be as un-needy as possible. My boyfriend and I were flying back to Switzerland after a funeral and he insisted we take an easyjet. I tried to fight it and had never been on one or similar companies, but finally I said ok and tried to see it as an adventure. But my spoilt as^s did not think properly about it. There was no business, he hadn't organised assigned seats and we ended up by the exit so you couldn't have your things with you. I was going through some really sh'itty stuff and out of nowhere I yelled and swore at the steward. I was so angry, stupid, spoilt, tired I blew up. Daniel was so shocked (and I was later) as I'm known for liking being nice and don't see why we all can't be nice, it's so easy. Never happened again in any public setting, but I think about it a lot and am so ashamed.
Feeling shame is good. It pushes you to grow. But don't be too hard on yourself. You were going through a lot
Load More Replies...I did something unforgettable on a flight once. I listened to the briefing by the flight attendant. Nobody else did.
Was on a flight to Bangladesh. As the lunch service was in process one of the lunch options was a chicken biryani (think a South Asian dish with coloured rice, vegetables, spicy tomato curry and spicy chicken). One of the passengers chose the biryani and as the flight attendants continued to serve the rest of the passengers but his tray in the aisle and proceeded to dump the foil container of his biryani directly on the tray table. He then mixed everything with his bare hands and went to town feeding himself with his hands. The passenger next to him was so upset. Aside from the passenger's understandable disgust apparently some of the rice ended up on his pants and shoes as a result of the man's enthusiastic eating.
The title should be "People who aren't flight attendants tell some stories of things that happened on airplanes"
Get footage if possible, voice note the flight info and the passenger's seat number, bill them for disruption and damage and whatever else you can think of.
I'm now feeling super fortunate that at worst I've experienced the crying baby or screaming children. I will never understand how, once people board an airplane, they forget every bit of manners or home training they've ever learned.
Had a fellow start to loudly argue with his seat mate (wife? GF?). Attendants calmed him down. We start to pull away from the terminal and he gets up and wanders up and down the aisle grumbling. Will not sit down. Back to the terminal and three stern, armed Swiss cops board and take him away.
I have to get this out, I am still so ashamed 10 years later. I am usually extremely polite, smiley, and nice to almost everyone. I'm unconfrontational and know they have a tough job so try to be as un-needy as possible. My boyfriend and I were flying back to Switzerland after a funeral and he insisted we take an easyjet. I tried to fight it and had never been on one or similar companies, but finally I said ok and tried to see it as an adventure. But my spoilt as^s did not think properly about it. There was no business, he hadn't organised assigned seats and we ended up by the exit so you couldn't have your things with you. I was going through some really sh'itty stuff and out of nowhere I yelled and swore at the steward. I was so angry, stupid, spoilt, tired I blew up. Daniel was so shocked (and I was later) as I'm known for liking being nice and don't see why we all can't be nice, it's so easy. Never happened again in any public setting, but I think about it a lot and am so ashamed.
Feeling shame is good. It pushes you to grow. But don't be too hard on yourself. You were going through a lot
Load More Replies...I did something unforgettable on a flight once. I listened to the briefing by the flight attendant. Nobody else did.
Was on a flight to Bangladesh. As the lunch service was in process one of the lunch options was a chicken biryani (think a South Asian dish with coloured rice, vegetables, spicy tomato curry and spicy chicken). One of the passengers chose the biryani and as the flight attendants continued to serve the rest of the passengers but his tray in the aisle and proceeded to dump the foil container of his biryani directly on the tray table. He then mixed everything with his bare hands and went to town feeding himself with his hands. The passenger next to him was so upset. Aside from the passenger's understandable disgust apparently some of the rice ended up on his pants and shoes as a result of the man's enthusiastic eating.
The title should be "People who aren't flight attendants tell some stories of things that happened on airplanes"
Get footage if possible, voice note the flight info and the passenger's seat number, bill them for disruption and damage and whatever else you can think of.
I'm now feeling super fortunate that at worst I've experienced the crying baby or screaming children. I will never understand how, once people board an airplane, they forget every bit of manners or home training they've ever learned.
