The five things you should stop doing on planes

Not that some of us haven’t tried that last one.

But there are also things passengers do all the time without necessarily realising they’re being super annoying, really rude or just plain wrong.

Luckily, flight attendant Nuralia Muzlan has taken to Quora to outline the five things passengers constantly do that they really shouldn’t.

And they’re worth a read, because we all want to be model citizens in the sky, don’t we?

 

We can all relate to this one — the frustration of being blocked from reaching your seat because someone is standing in the aisle, reorganising the contents of their bag in the overhead compartment, for what seems like an eternity.
Instead, we should learn to get organised earlier or worry about it later.
“Should you need to have your neck pillow, eye shades, books, earplugs, earphones, laptops, vanity kits, etc, etc, please do so when everyone has settled down in their seats and not while there’s a long queue of passengers trying to get to their seats as well,” Ms Muzlan said.

“Your blocking the aisle and impeding the boarding process is not cool.

“Better yet, do it before you get into the cabin. Take out whatever you need first so you won’t be blindly rummaging through your bags for your stuff.”

Ms Muzlan said firstly, don’t get aggressive with crew — ask politely if you have a problem.

But if you can, wait until after boarding time to raise your issue.

“Boarding is the peak time where everyone is doing way too many things at one go,” she said.

“We’re liaising not just with you but with multiple, other personnel: ground staff, cockpit crews, in-flight catering, engineering.

“Everyone’s fuse is short here, and since the door isn’t closed yet, remember it’s easier for us to call the enforcement officers and offload any, um, troublesome passengers.”

This one is easy: don’t block the aisle. It needs to be completely clear at all times, mostly to prevent injuries.

And injuries will happen, Ms Muzlan said.

“I’ve tended to these types of injuries before, where a passenger trips over someone’s bag, falls down, and hits the arm rest squarely on their mouth,” she said.

We all get bored on flights. That’s just the reality of air travel.

But passengers often need to be reminded they can’t just do whatever they like to keep occupied on a plane.

“Don’t do anything immoral, please. Mile High Club? Pfft,” Ms Muzlan said.

“An aircraft is not your private bedroom. Getting too boozy, too drunk, or too whatever and insulting others is also not cute.

“You’ll be welcomed by law enforcement officers once we touch down.”

We’ve all tried to be the first person off the plane, no matter how far from the exit we happen to be. You’ve tried it. We’ve all tried it.

But landing is a time for patience, and it’s really important we exercise that, Ms Muzlan said.

“I know you have to be somewhere. I know you need to be somewhere. I know you can see the seatbelt sign is still on. So why do you get up before it’s off?” she said.

“I know you’re eager to exit the aircraft — me too (especially if this is my last sector).

“But were I to have an injured passenger on board their health would be in jeopardy now because this other passenger refuses to obey the regulations and instead chooses to be selfish. “What if the captain brakes suddenly while taxiing down the runway? You’ll be thrown (or jerked) forward.

“This is not ideal for me either, as it’s close to midnight and I need to go home, too.

“Please be seated and we can all be on our way once the captain says the magic words you are dying to have repeated from the pre-landing check: ‘Cabin crew, disarm all doors and cross check’.”