Flying isn’t anyone’s idea of luxury these days, but while you’re stuck in your seat wondering when snacks are coming, flight attendants are dealing with a million things behind the scenes. They have to handle safety checks, weird requests—and yes, handing out peanuts. Sometimes, a few passengers do things that make their job way harder and here are eleven of them. You might not realize it, but these things are quite annoying for flight attendants.
Featured Image Credit: Krakenimages.com/Depositphotos.com.
Asking For Water During Boarding
Even though the doors aren’t even closed and some passengers are still looking for overhead space, someone’s already waving down a flight attendant for a glass of water. But the drinks aren’t out yet and the crew is just trying to get the plane ready—they have safety checks to finish, with no time to play bartender. They can’t just grab a random bottle without messing with inventory, meaning that asking for drinks at this time could hold up the whole process.
Tossing Trash in the Drink Cart
Some passengers shove gum wrappers or used tissues into the drink cart, despite the fact that it’s not a trash can—it’s full of cups & cans they’re about to hand to people. Nobody wants your half-chewed mint near their Coke and the stewards have organized the cart to avoid that from happening. If everyone dumped trash in there, they’d have to stop every few rows just to clean their hands & reorganize the setup.
Changing Diapers On the Tray Table
It sounds disgusting, but some parents change their baby’s diaper on the tray table—it’s not a “parent-shaming” thing, it’s just that those tray tables are for snacks instead. There’s a changing table in the lav for a reason and doing it right on the seat means the whole row gets to share that delightful aroma. The crew can’t exactly stop mid-flight to disinfect the whole seat area, either, and the next passenger in that seat has no idea what went down there.
Asking to Switch Meals After They’ve Been Served
There’s no point in asking, “You don’t have any more chicken?” because if they did, you’d already have it—flight attendants don’t have a spare kitchen hidden somewhere and they work with what’s loaded. When someone tries to trade meals after service, it affects the count and could leave someone else with nothing but dry crackers. All meal choices are pre-counted & matched to the passenger load, so the attendant isn’t being rude by not giving you what you want. It’s just how the system works.
Ringing the Call Button Right After Takeoff
Although the plane has just taken off & the seatbelt sign is still lit, you can guarantee someone’s already buzzing the call button like it’s room service. If it’s not smoke or an emergency, that request is gonna have to wait till the crew may safely get up—most of the time, it’s just someone asking for a blanket. The crew could actually get in trouble for getting up during certain phases of flight, so give them a rest.
Blocking the Galley While Stretching
Flight attendants completely understand that, on a long flight, your legs start cramping—but if you’re doing your full-body yoga pose right in the galley, you’re in the way. These places are already cramped and that’s why this space isn’t meant for passengers. The crew needs to be able to move fast, especially if someone’s sick or there’s turbulence, so while you might not see anyone there for a few minutes, they will be coming back. And they’ll need that space clear when they do.
Sneaking Into the Crew’s Jump Seat Area
Likewise, it’s really annoying for flight attendants when a passenger tries to casually lean or sit near the jump seats because that space is for crew rest or quick access to safety gear. It’s not for your phone call or your nap—in fact, on longer flights, that area is the only place the crew gets to catch a break. Hanging around there complicates things and makes it more stressful for the crew who are trying to get through the flight.
Leaving Headphones On When Placing an Order
It’s just plain rude when you place an order while wearing your noise-cancelling headphones, especially since it usually ends with “Wait, what?” and a whole lot of back-and-forth. The attendant has to lean in, ask again, and then hope the answer is clear. Multiply that by a few dozen people and it slows the whole cart to a crawl, so just take one earbud out. It’s simply polite.
Using the Lavatory During Beverage Service
On every flight, you can guarantee that just as the cart hits the middle of the aisle, someone needs the bathroom now—but the cart’s too big to move and squeezing past makes the passenger bump into someone else. Timing is everything, and this is the worst time for you to run to the restroom. You’ll just create an awkward traffic jam, so if you can hold it in, just wait until the aisle’s clear.
Leaving Used Tissues in the Seatback Pocket
The crew has to reach into every pocket during cleanup and when they find a damp tissue (or five), it’s just disgusting. The pocket isn’t a trash bin because it’s actually where the safety card & barf bag are supposed to go. The attendants have to check and clear everything before the next flight boards, and reaching into mystery goo with no warning just adds stress. There’s a bag for trash—use it and don’t hide surprises in the pocket.
Walking Around Barefoot
No matter how relaxing it might be to kick off your shoes, walking around the cabin barefoot irritates a lot of flight attendants since the floors don’t get fully deep-cleaned after every flight. There’s no telling what’s been spilled or tracked through the aisles because bathrooms get wet—and it’s not always water. It’s also quite risky behavior when there’s turbulence or loose items.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
Like our content? Be sure to follow us on MSN.
