travel

The ways you're annoying your flight attendants without even realising it.

If there’s one thing we can all agree, it’s that annoying plane passengers are the worst.

Whether it’s your seat neighbour stealing your armrest, someone talking loudly when all you want to do is sleep, or that kid behind you kicking your seat, we all know how irritating these people are.

But what if I told you that to the flight attendant, you might be the annoying passenger? Flight attendants have dished on the most annoying passenger behaviour on Reddit, and chances are you’re guilty of one or two.

Relying on them for your rubbish disposal.

Former flight attendant Inked1986 said his biggest message to passengers was to throw their own rubbish away and not rely on the cabin crew to do it for them. They advise taking any leftover rubbish with you when you leave and throwing it in the bin on the plane or the airport on your way out.

And absolutely DO NOT leave your rubbish in the seat-back pocket.

Don't load up that tray with rubbish once you're done. (Image via Getty.)
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"We typically have very little time between flights to tidy up and perform a checklist of tasks and finding an unpleasant surprise tucked in those seat-back pockets is not fun."

Another Redditor said his flight attendant wife's "biggest grievance" was when people loaded up their meal tray with extra rubbish.

Talking during the safety demonstration.

Think the flight attendants don't notice when you're chatting as they're showing you the plane's safety features? Think again.

Redditor Scottler shared that they noticed who paid attention and who didn't and would be taking note in case of an emergency. Another user said it's just common courtesy to be quiet.

"If you're in the front with me while I'm demonstrating or in the back with me while I'm speaking the safety demo, please be quiet and courteous. Especially when I'm in the back and you're having a loud conversation and talking over me, it is distracting," she said.

Pressing the call button when it's not an emergency.

Apparently, that button with a picture of a flight attendant isn't there so they can be at your beck and call. Flight attendant Vlcamare told fellow Reddit users that the button is for emergencies only.

"Don't ring the call button if you want a coke. That's not why it's there," they said.

"I know it has a picture of a flight attendant with a drink but that's a fail by the airplane manufacturer."

Listen: Open plan offices are another hotbed for accidentally annoying behaviour.

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Bugging the crew when they are counting.

Occasionally, you might notice the flight crew walking briskly through the cabin, obviously counting passengers. This is not the time to ask them for a blanket.

"Chances are, if I look like I'm busy, I probably am, and my job can be very time sensitive sometimes," wrote one flight attendant. "Please don't interrupt me unless it's necessary."

Not being ready with a drink order.

You know the drink cart is coming. If you're not anxiously awaiting its arrival, you can at least see that it's slowly moving towards you. So that's why it annoys flight attendants if you don't have your drink order ready to go. The menu is limited, so no excuses.

"My mum is a flight attendant and her pet peeve is when people are completely flabbergasted or unprepared when they come by and ask for your drink choice," shared Mikemat5150.

Flirting with your flight attendant.

There's being friendly and then there's outright hitting on your flight attendant. Just as it's a common complaint of bar staff and waiters, flight attendants also don't appreciate being asked out or flirted with while at work.

Most people don't like being chatted up at work. (Image via Getty.)
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Complaining about your small stopover window.

This one is probably something we've all done. Repeat after me: complaining about your short connection time to the flight attendant will not change anything.

"We can't control the weather and we aren't responsible for booking your tickets, so please don't get mad at us if you are about to miss your connection," wrote one flight attendant.

Using the hot towels inappropriately.

This one isn't annoying so much as disturbing. If you are doing this, flight attendants everywhere are begging you to stop.

"When my mum worked for United a couple years ago, they would give out "fresh lemon towels" to the passengers. Some of the women would use these towels to clean their 'parts'," informed one Redditor.

"My mum had to pick these up at the end of the flight and said she would use the food tongs to pick them up then wash them."

Speaking of inappropriate behaviour...

Redditor NiKva spelled out a simple warning to passengers who were, ahem, servicing themselves during the flight.

"Those who think they are jerking off discreetly beneath their in-flight blankets, but who really aren't. We know."

And with that, we feel a little better about our own breaches of flight etiquette.

What's the most annoying thing you've seen a passenger do on a plane?