Oh hell no (Picture: Getty)
Air travel is usually a very exciting time – but certain flight faux-paus by your neighboring passengers can make the experience unpleasant.
Flight comparison site Skyscanner spoke to 2,000 UK flyers to uncover the most annoying habits they’ve observed by other passengers on flights.
Of the twenty most-observed behaviours, the ones that got passengers back up the most included people drinking too much while on the flight, parents letting their children run amok on the plane, queue-jumping, using gadgets without headphones or reclining their seat without considering the people around them.
Here’s the full list of the twenty most annoying plane habits, according to those surveyed:
Parents letting their children run around on the plane (48%)
Line-cutters (43%)
Reclining your seat while the food and drinks are served (43%)
Reclining your seat back at any point during the flight (40%)
Using gadgets without headphones (35%)
Standing up as soon as the plane lands (33%)
Leaving bags on the seat to get comfortable when you’re trying to sit down (31%)
Hogging both armrests (31%)
Draping hair over the back of the seat (28%)
Taking up multiple seats in the departure lounge (28%)
Not separating liquids before security and causing a hold-up (27%)
Not having passports or boarding passes to hand and holding up the queue (24%)
Taking shoes or socks off on the plane (22%)
Blocking escalators/ travellators so you can’t walk past (22%)
Over-packing and holding up the line while you sort your bags out (21%)
Clapping when the plane lands (20%)
Picking up the wrong luggage from the carousel (18%)
Standing right next to where the luggage comes out from the carousel (15%)
Lining up at the gate long before boarding starts (13%)
But as irritated as the passengers surveyed may have felt about these habits, some also admitted in the survey that they weren’t exactly guilt-free of flight faux-paus themselves.
25% of them admitted to the cardinal sin of removing their socks and shoes during a flight, while 19% and 17% of fliers admitted to holding up others by forgetting to remove certain items from security, and standing up as soon as the plane landed.
Interestingly, the survey also found that the younger a passenger was, the more self-conscious they tended to be about exhibiting unwanted plane behaviours.
Gen Zs and millennials appeared to feel the most guilty, at 22% and 18%, respectively, while only 7% of baby boomers saw themselves as likely to commit common travel sins.
Age also seemed to play a role in what travel sins the flyers feel more likely to commit.
Younger travellers in the survey, for instance, considered themselves more likely to overpack, more likely to recline their seats during meal service, have their hair take up space on other people’s seats, or cause check-in delays for others by repacking.
Meanwhile, boomers admitted they were more guilty of travel sins like forgetting to remove metal items during security checks and standing up too prematurely once the plane lands.
‘For many people, boarding a plane marks the beginning of a long-anticipated vacation,’ a spokesperson for Skyscanner said in a statement.
‘However, the many do’s and don’ts of air travel frequently spark debate. The entire airport process, from check-in to security checks, is often stressful, reducing our usual tolerance levels.
‘While it’s tempting to start vacationing the moment you step on the plane, it’s essential to be considerate of fellow passengers. If something might irritate you, it’s best to refrain from doing it.’
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Are you guilty of any of these habits?