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38 Plane Passengers Who Made Flight Attendants' Job More Difficult Than It Already Is
Something about air travel makes people act like crazy. How else would you explain the shenanigans some folks get up to during flights? According to a 2022 analysis by the International Air Transport Assn., there is an average of one incident per 568 flights. So, when you think about it, your chances of encountering an entitled jerk on a plane are pretty high.
A 21-year study by researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas found that verbal altercations are the most common type of passenger misconduct. Failure to follow a crew member’s commands ranked second, and only 15% of incidents involved passengers getting physical.
When we encounter unruly passengers, our day is definitely ruined, but flight attendants deal with this kind of behavior way more often than we do. Two online threads with stories about the worst passengers the cabin crew has had the displeasure of flying with really opened people’s eyes, and Bored Panda is bringing you the wildest ones that will make you appreciate the things flight attendants go through a lot more.
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#1
My godmother tells a story of how, when she was an air hostess, a businessman in first class was very insistent that she join him in the bathroom...
She reported this to her very male, very gay, cabin supervisor who proceeded to grab the man by the arm and very loudly offer his services if the man really wanted a cabin crew member.
He declined for some reason.
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#2
When we are doing meal service and they insist to go through the aisle to go to the lavatory, making me have to pull the food cart all the way back to where I started and then back to where I left off. Then when they are finished with their business, I have to move again for them. People have to realize that those food carts are really heavy and making us pull the cart back and forth is really hard on us!!!!!!!
#3
This lady gave me some rubbish to put in the bin and then I realised it was a warm nappy.
#4
I will admit, our passengers are pretty legit most of the time aside from the typical grumpy, annoying run of the mill nonsense. So when someone is abnormally terrible it's hard to forget.
It's a morning flight from Las Vegas to Seattle, the whole crew is on their last leg of their 4 day trip, exhausted and trying to get home. This classic Vegas-5-foot-nothing-blonde-floozie comes on in last nights clothes/makeup/weave, NO SHOES and starts slur-demanding blankets, we don't have blankets on our flights, we explain that yet she insists we are lying and just being lazy. The whole time she's holding up boarding and we tell her "Ma'am ain't nobody got blankets here, please take your seat. Like now."
She takes her seat but within five minutes she's ringing her call light repeatedly, bothering the other Flight Attendants demanding they stop being lazy and please just fetch her the blankets that we've, time and time again, insisted we don't have on board. Ironically she was polite enough while she was being a complete pain in the neck (being crazy obvi, but no swearing or yelling), so other than her reluctance to just chill out, I really had no reason to kick her off the flight. Yet.
The gate agent gives us a final opportunity to kick her off but she seemed to have finally come to terms with the lack of blankets and chilled. So thank god, thank christ, the Pilots had to hold off our departure to press a few more buttons or whatevs, and while we were waiting at the gate that's when she lost it. Had we taken off with her on board, the Lord only knows how much patience I would have had.
She starts demanding all of our names and telling us she's going to get us all fired because we refused to get her blankets. I tell her one final time, and I honestly can't help but laugh when I say "I promise that if we had blankets it would be SO SO SO much easier to give them to you than to continue having this terrible conversation." I give our gate agent the go ahead to take her off the flight, but now she refuses to leave. So the passengers are all pissed obviously and yelling "KICK HER OFF ALREADY!" We're like, "DUH we be trying!"
At this point procedure is to call the police if passengers refuse to leave which can result in arrest, this usually lights a fire under any resistant little jerk's bum and gets them the hell off my plane. Unfortunately police are at least 1-2 hours out from being available to arrest her, so they send the three biggest firefighters to the scene. She once again refuses, and all logic is out the window. She now claims she has a medical condition concerning her circulation and can't walk off the plane any longer, so she should just be allowed to fly and that wouldn't somehow turn into an in-air medical circus. Yeah no.
With the Captain, the Flight Attendants, the Firefighters and the Gate Agents all standing around trying to reason with this chick that she's holding up all these nice people she finally cooperates. BUT says she has to be wheeled off the plane because she can't walk. That means pulling out our little ghetto onboard wheelchair which is the only thing narrow enough to fit down the aisles.
So we did it. Gritting our teeth we wheeled her off! I kid you not, the whole cabin CHEERED. Like standing ovation. They said we as a crew handled everything as well as we could've, so that was a relief.
#5
I once had a passenger take of his shoes, put his dirty feet on the seat and clip all of his toenails. It was rude, there were toenails flying everywhere. He also left a nice pile of his hacked off heel skin on the seat for someone else to deal with. Not me!
#6
I'm not a flight attendant, but used to travel all the time for work and one time saw the worst behavior after our flight was delayed for several hours and got overbooked due to another flight being canceled.
This one guy totally snapped and got up in the face of the gate agent and was really mad at her, yelling, "look me up in the computer, you have to put me on this flight, you have to upgrade me, I have all sorts of status, etc... etc... etc..."
I don't care if you are executive platinum for life, if you are being a jerk and are yelling at the gate agent you are not going to get on that plane ... she is probably the only person in the entire world that can help you at that moment in time.
*sigh*.
#7
DO NOT pull on our uniforms! If we tell you there's no more room for bags, just listen to us and check it. I know there's a call button there, but don't ring it 15 million times. Please don't ask us to put your bag in the overhead compartment. We can help you guide your bag up there, but most company inform us not to lift your bags. If we do and we get hurt, then we don't qualify for workmens comp.
#8
When I am running things, there will be some changes to air travel.
Every passenger will be required to place any carry-on luggage in a mockup of the overhead bin at check-in. If it is too large, they will be required to check it. If they attempt to put it in lengthwise instead of wheels-in or -out, they will be bumped from the flight and have to rebook for tomorrow.
If you stand and block access to the gate before your group number is called, you will be placed on the no-fly list for a year.
Finally, there will be a six foot wide yellow stripe painted around the luggage claim conveyor. Anyone caught loitering inside the yellow zone, instead of standing back and waiting until they see their bag before crowding the carousel, will have their possessions fed into an industrial wood chipper.
Jeff White 14 hours ago
A valid points. Perhaps a bit extreme, but I have to admit there are many flights where I am in this camp. What we really need is for EVERYONE to realize flying is a luxury an somewhat a privilege. Getting from Point A to Point B in 1/10 the time and effort it would take without flying should be considered and treated like the minor miracle it is. And that is 10x more important if considering inter-continental fights.
#9
My mom was a Pan Am flight attendant for many years. She's told me lots of crazy stories, but the one I remember right now was the time she had Marlon Brando on her plane. This was when he was still handsome Brando and not weirdo obese Brando. She said he told dirty jokes the whole time and after each time he would slap his knee really hard and guffaw. She liked him, but when he was leaving the plane and giving her a big old hug she said his tummy felt like jello. I guess obese Brando was just waiting to pop out.
#10
I HAVE to ask you about sitting in an exit row, don't be a jerk, listen to me for 15 seconds. There are RULES I HAVE to attempt to enforce, that being said, if you don't know what silent is on your phone you deserve to be publicly shamed. FLUSH THE TOILET! Most lavatories have door knobs. They work like ALL OTHER DOOR KNOBS. Oh, and you're a million miler? That's awesome! I actually appreciate you because I most days I love my job and you ensure I get money for passing out coke and cookies, but you don't get to snap your fingers at me, you don't get to throw your coat at me, and I am not your bar wench. Also, come on a plane hygienically sound. Don't do anything bodily on board (clip nails, clip hair, remove nail polish, brush teeth and leave toothpaste everywhere). And leave peacefully, without yelling at me about a thunderstorm that made you miss your connection. I'm not Storm. I wish I was.
...I ranted. Please, bury this comment as it is the result of layover drinks.
#11
My older sistrr worked as a flight attendant. She hated when people would drop their carry-on at her feet and tell her to "find a place for it"
Also, there was an old lady who poked her in the chest to get her attention - repeatedly.
Edit: forgot to mention the old lady was poking her with a fork.
#12
Not flight attendant.
On a flight from Angola to South Africa, an elderly man seated in front of me suddenly got up, put on his jacket and sixpence, pulled his carry-on from the overhead and proceeded to try to open the door to get off.
When he was told to leave the door alone, he lost it and had to be overpowered. That wasn't very hard, as he was a frail old man, but nobody could convince him that it's a really bad idea to open the door when you're at cruising altitude.
In almost twenty years of frequent international flying, this was the only incident of having to use physical force I witnessed.
Annoying drunk business men and clueless parents, however: probably every single flight.
#13
Flight attendant here.
Repeatedly hitting your call button. It's a call button not morse code. I'll get to you when I can. PARENTS, stop letting your kids hit the button. It's annoying as hell.
Snapping your fingers or whistling at me. I'm not a dog.
Complaining at me and insinuating that I can do anything about your 30 minute connection time in JFK. You have to switch terminals? Yeah you're going to miss your next flight and that's your own dumb fault. Congrats, Delta got your money and they are not obligated to rebook you.
Assuming I'm a glorified sky waitress. My job involves a LOT more than serving drinks. I went through a lot of training to take your attitude and a little respect goes a long way. I'm there primarily for your SAFETY, not to mix you some weird combination of ginger ale, cranberry juice, and seltzer water.
If I tell you your bag needs to be checked to cargo, IT NEEDS TO BE CHECKED TO CARGO AND ARGUING WITH ME WILL CAUSE A DELAY.
We, the flight crew, are not chickens for not flying in inclement weather. The decision to cancel/delay a flight is not up to us. STOP GETTING MAD AT ME ABOUT DELAYS. Relax, have a drink, the gate agent will sort your stuff out.
Loudly sighing and obviously checking your watch while we're taxiing to the gate will get us there faster. Especially in Detroit. I promise.
Give me your trash when I come through one of 12 times to collect it. Don't leave it in the seat.
I try to be as pleasant as possible, but I work 14 hour days and get paid $16K a year. My days are long and my overnights are short. Please try to be as low maintenance as possible. People forget their manners when they fly.
BE NICE AND RESPECTFUL AND I WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO ENSURE YOU HAVE A GREAT FLIGHT(FREE BOOZE/SNACKS)
EDIT: I work for a regional airline. The red headed dumb stepchild of airlines. I'm finishing college too. Mainline pays WAY better. When I get my degree I'm going to either join a mainline or get out of the business entirely. Regionals are by far the WORST.
paddingtonvg 11 hours ago
My mum lied to me when I was little and told me the call button was for emergencies only. Even after learning this isn't true, I am still really reluctant to press it, which I do very rarely and with a look of panic on my face
#14
Ive been a flight attendant for 20 years my number one pet peeve is cutting your nails or toenails on the plane. I can hear that from back in the galley even if you're in row 2 that's the most disgusting thing in the world to do on a plane. The other one is trying to get your mile high club wings.People don't know how disgusting that bathroom is when people pee all over everything in there. In turbulence that wetness on the floor is not from the sink trust me.
Nicole Weymann 11 hours ago
Currently at #19 this is at least the third time I read about people cutting their toe nails on a plane 😶 Some people are WAY too comfortable treating public space like they own the place.
#15
I feel like I should be a candidate for this. I was on an 8 hour overnight flight and since I can't sleep on planes I had decided to get drunk on the free booze. When the plane was coming in to land I needed to throw up but couldn't find the sick bag, so threw up in to one of the blankets they had given out. Being drunk and not sure what to do, I stuffed the blanket under the chair in front and left. I also spent a good chunk of the flight either requesting more alcohol or drunkenly chatting with the cabin crew.
I've since been advised that spirits are better to drink when flying, as the bubbles in beer can feel strange in your stomach when the air pressure changes due to pressurisation and depressurisation of the cabin which can lead to vomiting.
#16
On a flight to Las Vegas was this woman who had clearly been drinking in the airport beforehand. On the flight she spilt her water on her sandwich she bought and demanded we compensate her with 5 vodkas and 10 blankets for the mess. Mind you she is the one who spilt the drink on herself, not one of us. As my colleague goes over to wipe the tray table down with some napkins she starts screaming "She punched me!" At that point you are for sure going to be getting a warning card because swearing at us plus lying about such a thing is a big no no. This woman then stomps up to first class where I'm working demanding the Captain comes out and fires her for punching her in the face right in front of her and starts claiming how my colleague told her she will never fly our company again. Anyways 3 days later this same woman tries to board the plane in Vegas and what do you know 4 of us that were working the original flight are now working this flight and recognize her so she was kicked off immediately for disturbance to flight crew and at that point her ticket is cancelled automatically and she is out all of that money.
On another flight coming home from Vegas this drunk man sits down in a random seat so once the actual people who are assigned to that seat come along this drunk guy starts snapping his fingers at me. I ask to see his boarding pass and he hands me a grocery store receipt....
Had a black couple sit in the wrong seats another time so when we (me and my colleague who happens to be blackest of black) asked to see their boarding pass they gave it to us and we politely told them how they are actually seated 5 rows behind and not in this row and they started screaming at us how we are racist and they are going to sue us. My black colleague simply goes "I'm racist???" and stretches out her arm against their arm to show they are the same colour.
Been a flight attendant for two years and about every other flight there is one bad passenger unless it is a Las Vegas flight or Kingston, Jamaica flight in which there are lots and lots of bad passengers.
#17
I work on the small regional planes no one really likes to be on. They're small we get it, but the seats really aren't much smaller than mainline if at all, plus we don't have middle seats, just window and aisle.
So I'm working a full flight from Houston to somewhere in the Midwest, both places where it's common to have large people, not just fat either. Well this fairly large guy gets on while we're about half way through with boarding and realized the guy he has to sit next to is also fairly large. They were about the same size really. Well before he takes his seat he storms back to me and asks if he can take one of the empty seats in the back. I know it's going to be a full flight so I tell him that but if there are any empty rows I'll come get him. He says something about the guy next to him being too big and spilling into his seat. I checked it out and it want even that bad. The guy fit just fine.
Boarding starts to slow and with every passenger trickling in he looks back seeing if he can go. I have to tell this guy at least 5 times to wait.
Well sure enough we're full. I'm doing my count and tell him he had to stay there. Gives a big sigh and starts grumbling about how ridiculous it is.
He proceeds to cross his leg and lean as far into the aisle as possible, literally an inch from the seat across from him so anytime anyone had to pass him they have to say excuse me and he'll make a big huff about leaving a couple inches so they still have to squeeze by.
My job requires me to make that walk many times a flight, a couple times with a large heavy cart. I knew what he was doing so I made sure I pushed my side of the cart as close to him add possible. After having to say excuse me 4-5 times and him making a scene, embarrassing the guy next to him, I stopped saying it and just walked into him every time. Things calmed down but he still wouldn't sit right in his seat, he wanted to make a point. So I only did trash runs when it looked like he was about to fall asleep.
#18
I was on a flight across from London Luton to Vilnius, Lithuania when I saw a pretty awful passenger. He was pretty much in classic chav gear, and was visibly drunk as a skunk, he spent the majority of flight shouting to the attendants for more whisky,
Eventually his neighbour gets annoyed with him after he spills a tin of beer all over where he was sat. This ended up with a bit of a face off and a scuffle where three attendants turned up to try and break up the fight. He gets separated from his neighbour, and just spends the flight swearing loudly and being a jerk. Eventually a lady attendant turns up and tries to makes him quiet down. He continues being a jerk and slaps her behind. I have no idea how she kept her cool that day; I really don't.
#19
I'm not a flight attendant, but I was flying a red eye first class from Dubai to New York. I'm sitting there on my phone, and I hear some guy say, "Excuse me, could you ask the pilot to turn off the left engine, so my son can get some sleep?".
#20
I worked as an airline reservation agent. My biggest pet peeve was people who couldn't put it together that if you tell the agent that you are incapable or disabled, you will NOT be given an exit seat for "leg room." In the event of an emergency, the other 120 paxes on the plane don't want to have a full minute less to avoid their demise. Please don't make an airline attendant spell that out for you.
Also, those people who yelled at me because their so-and-so bf/son/uncle'speter was in the military, so they automatically qualified for a 99% discounted rate. Airline agents don't set the price of the ticket. Don't accuse them of being greedy corporate commies (no, really) because they can't issue a $2 ticket to a man in uniform.
Also, frankly, anyone from Boston or New York during a weather emergency. Never in my life had I heard the words "don't you know who I AM?!" before telling a business class pax flying from Logan to JFK that the reason his flight was canceled was because ALL flights were canceled, in addition to almost all public transportation and basically anything that relied on electricity. Self-entitled pr1cks.
#21
Been working as a flight attendant for a year now....
Can't stand it when first class passengers shove their jackets at me as soon as they step through the doorway, especially when I already have an armful.
When you put your super small bag jacket in the overhead bin.....there is space under the seat in front of you for a reason...I shouldn't have to take the time to ask everyone whose jacket is in the bin so I can hand them out to find someone a space for ther large bag. Hold onto your jacket until the bags are all set up then place them on top
Yelling at me that since you sit in the front part of economy that you should be able to use the first class lavatory. This is a security violation and we can't have people in line by the flight deck.
Hanging out in my galley. I understand the need to stretch your legs, especially on a long flight.....but when I am preparing or restocking my carts for whatever service we are offering in already such a small space I don't need you making it more difficult for me to do my job.
Pointing out from three rows away that such and such person needs to pull their seat back up when I'm trying to get people right in front of me to do it first.....trust me, we will get to that row and tell them ourselves, and no one likes a tattle tale!!!
Playing your game/movie/music without headphones. This is the worst, especially on a red eye flight. No one wants to listen to your noise during flight!!!
I'm sure there's more but these are my main pet peeves.
#22
If you press that call button, and we're having anything above mild turbulence, you better be having a health issue because I will not risk breaking my ankle to get you some more orange juice.
#23
Not a flight attendant but, I'm a gate agent, if your flight is delayed or if you miss your flight because you were at the bar, it's not my fault, I don't control that. I can't make the plane fly faster, I can't control whether or not dispatch decides to delay or cancel your flight. Things happen, the nicer you are, the more willing I am to try to help you more. If you miss your flight, I don't have to rebook you on the next one. If your a jerk and tell me that I "have to get you there today" I won't. If you're nice and understanding, I will try my best.
tl;dr I control your fate whether you make it to your destination or not. Don't make me not want to help you.
#24
Telling passenger that there carry-on is too big to fit in the overhead bin, it will have to be checked.
"But I have a tight connection."
OK THEN! I will wave a magic wand and PRESTO! The bin just got bigger!
#25
"Oh I'm the wrong seat?" You know you're in the middle seat in the back.
Jeff White 13 hours ago
I am genuinely curious how I should handle this situation? Ask once they call the FA seems to be the best option. Is it?
#26
Probably will get buried but my uncle (and his fiancée) are flight attendants. He worked a flight in which the boys from One Direction were on. Ed Sheeran was with them. They kept throwing stuff around the first class cabin and shouting a lot. My uncle doesn't like this stuff. Don't throw things around a first class cabin and shout. Not even if you're a cool celebrity.
#27
Not a flight attendant, but my Dad was a passenger on Jetstar (Australian airline) and ended up punching a passenger in the face after he suspected him of being Jewish when the guy told him he shouldn't have two alcoholic drinks at the same time. He was a bit of a racist....
Got escorted off the plane by police and fined a $10,000 'spoilage fee'.
#28
A passenger who notices you are a Korean and talk about bear/human "love" story in Korean legend for 20 minutes.
#29
My mom had Ted Kennedy once. He got super drunk during the flight and threw a fit. Made a huge mess.
#30
Not a flight attendant but the last time I flew this guy was plastered and kept saying "what's the deal with airline food?" Over and over with the worst Seinfeld impersonation you could imagine.
#31
I was seated next to a passenger who seemed to selectively understand the flight attendant. For the first meal, he responded pretty well about what meal he wanted. The second time, he just stared at her, with me sitting awkwardly between them while she tried to rephrase the options different ways to get some kind of answer. She was getting visibly frustrated and he just didn't care (or something?). Efficiency seems to be the big thing in a tiny space and he was just content to be a big silent speedbump.
#33
Saw this in real life once. I couldn't turn away, it was too magical. As we were boarding an older gentleman in a cheapish suit a few seats ahead of me was chatting up the quite attractive flight attendant. She was trying to do her job helping people with bags and welcoming people on the plane but this guy was just *shamelessly* hitting on her. She wasn't flat out ignoring him, she would politely laugh at his come ons, but he was grinning ear to ear thinking he was pitching fastballs one after the other. Finally he goes "let me guess where you're from." "Ok," she says hesitantly. "Tennessee!" "No actually I'm from Flor-" "Ask me why I guessed that!" "...Okay... Why did you guess that?" *huge old man grin* "Because you're the only ten I see."
At this point without thinking I muttered a pretty loud "No way." They both turned, she looked humiliated, he kept smiling. He put an hand on her arm and said "I'm trouble, I know."
To this day this is one of the most miraculous things I've ever seen. On a plane or otherwise. Every 12 year old boy has heard those pickup lines, but I have never ever in all my years witnessed one actually being used. But being used by that guy, on that woman, and bombing as hard as he did, while being as confident and happy as he was... It was truly amazing, I wish you all could have been there.
#34
Don't stack the stuff on the trays! If you don't know how things work, they need to be the same way I gave them to you to fit back in the trolley, you may think you are helping but I have to put everything back in place after you give it to me with the bonus points of touching your food. Ugh.
#35
My mother used to be a flight attendant (she is a flight attendant instructor now) and her worst experience was with Tonya Harding. Very loud and obnoxious. Apparently she started to quiet down when the booze started rolling through.
#36
Not a flight attendant but I'm pretty sure I was that passenger.
I moved to where I live now to get sober and was having a last hurrah on my way here. I got drunk at the airport before my flight and kept ordering drinks on the plan.
In my defence I wasn't loud, didn't really talk, stayed in my seat except to use the bathroom and never made a scene or anything.
She got pissed eventually and said I was too drunk and wouldn't serve me anymore drinks.
I didn't make a big deal out of it or anything but she lectured me for a long time in front of other people which pissed me off.
Finally I just said "Look, you can cut me off but you don't get to lecture me, your not my mother".
Nicole Weymann 7 hours ago
If the account is accurate the FA was justified in cutting OP off (who doesn't seem to be all that upset about it), but that lecture was inappropriate - and might have escalated the situation immensely with a less affable passenger. Not saying it was a good idea to get wasted before the flight and keep on imbibing on the plane, but (keeping in mind we only have OP's side of the story) the FA was more in the wrong than non scene producing OP.
#37
I vividly remember when I was younger, I would constantly press the "call flight attendant" button to request cookies on a 10 hour flight. She eventually just went back and handed me the box of cookies and I was pretty satisfied. When we disembarked, I realized how much of an jerk I was and gave her $10 I had in my pocket. Probably one of the sweetest and happiest flight attendants I've ever seen.
#38
Definitely a candidate. I had a flight to London on st pattys day. Proceeded to get wasted and barely made my flight. I had been upgraded and they fed me some pasta dish. I passed out briefly but woke up with a sudden urge to puke. I ran to the bathroom but could only just open the door before I projectile vomitted booze and orange pasta sauce remnants over the entire bathroom. I realized there would be no way to clean it so i just stumbled back to my seat and passed out. Oh and I had bare feet the whole time.
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