A Flight Attendant Was Asked to Do Something Bizarre in Front of Passengers. Other Crew Members Revealed This Was Far From the Strangest Request

Each time we board a plane, we know where we’re going, but we never really know what might happen during the flight. And sometimes, the journey itself can be filled with unforgettable moments. Some are frustrating, others are downright strange, and a few can be hilarious. I think you’ll enjoy the ones I’m sharing today!

I know I’ve written about plenty of odd, annoying, and sometimes unsettling airplane behaviors. Remember the passenger curling her hair mid-flight? Or the woman clipping her nails, the passenger who decided to make fresh pasta on her tray table, and the man who actually climbed into an overhead bin? And these are just a few of the things people have done on airplanes!

I’ve also covered quite a few surprising seat disputes. One United Airlines passenger was moved 18 rows back after he’d already boarded with a valid seat assignment. Another man arrived at the window seat he’d paid for and found someone else sitting there. And then there are the unusual requests to switch seats, including a woman who cried for hours after another passenger refused to trade places with her.

And it isn’t just passengers I’ve been writing about. I’ve shared what flight attendants consider passenger red flags, some of the strangest questions they’ve been asked on the job, and even their advice on what not to wear on a plane.

But this time, I came across something very different. I watched a video of a new flight attendant doing something I couldn’t quite understand at first. And when I looked into it, I discovered that she wasn’t the only one! Yes, I am including multiple (and different) examples.

Image from Depositphotos

I’ve gathered the videos and some of the funniest accounts here, including a few involving passengers who had absolutely no idea what was going on. Some of these had me laughing, while others made me wonder whether I’d have fallen for the same thing!

The “Important” Task That Sent a New Flight Attendant Down the Aisle

Erica, who posts on TikTok as @ericaonthefly, had been asked by a more experienced colleague to collect a sample of air from the aircraft cabin.

The supposed assignment was an air quality test. She was given a bag and sent to collect the sample, taking the request seriously enough to walk through the cabin and scoop up air while passengers watched.

There was no legitimate air test to complete. It was a prank on the new flight attendant, and the people who sent her knew exactly what would happen.

Erica’s caption made it clear that she could laugh about the experience afterward:

“I should have never told them I was new to aviation. They Got Me. Even a passenger shook his head and laugh. It was a fun time. I love my airline!”

One of the funniest parts of the discussion was discovering how many people had completely misunderstood what she was doing.

“Was I the only one thinking she was collecting a fart 🤷‍♀️”

“I thought she was catching a fart”

Another viewer was amused that the prank had taken place in front of passengers:

“With passengers is mean 😩😂😂😂😂 you held that bag like your life depended on it 💀💀💀”

Others immediately recognized it as a rookie initiation. One commenter explained, “For those that don’t get it. It’s a joke done to new hires.”

“I was told to do that too! You look serious girl! I LUV IT! 💙❤️💛”

“Been there, done that. 🤦🏾‍♀️”

The person behind that last comment even shared a photograph of their own bag filled with air.

There were also welcomes from people who appeared familiar with Southwest’s crew culture, including “Welcome to the family!!!!🤣🤣🤣💛❤️💙” and “Welcome to the greatest airline, you will love it here 💙💛❤️”.

Southwest Airlines joined the joke online, referring to the exercise as “The very important air test.”

Another New Flight Attendant Was Given Red Gloves to Collect Air for the Pilots

Erica wasn’t the only new crew member to find themselves walking through an airplane with an unusual assignment.

In another TikTok video, posted by @naiomifreeman1991, a newcomer is sent to collect a sample of cabin air for the pilots.

This time, the prank included another detail: red fire gloves. According to the creator’s caption, the gloves were supposedly necessary to prevent the air sample from being contaminated.

The gloves made the assignment look more official, even though collecting cabin air in a bag was still the joke.

In the comments on Erica’s video, someone described an even more elaborate version that supposedly involved taking the collected air beyond the airplane.

“My dad was a captain back in the 80’s and 90’s and the number of new FA’s that he got to take a trash bag of air through customs was hilarious then. Glad to see the tradition didn’t die😂😂”

Another person said they’d pulled the same trick while training employees on the airport ramp:

“I had my ramp trainees do that. They took it to the pilot, he showed them the correct way to do it 🤣”

The air-sample prank has clearly been circulating for years, according to these accounts. But the comments also revealed that collecting air was only one of many imaginary assignments given to newcomers.

Some New Crew Members Were Sent to Find the Keys to the Airplane

Imagine arriving for your first flight, eager to do your job properly, and being told that you need to collect something important from the captain before departure.

That’s the premise behind another joke several flight attendants remembered.

Under Erica’s video, one person wrote:

“I was told to get the keys to turn on the airplane 😭😭😭”

A separate TikTok posted by @adriana_lup attracted similar stories from people describing their aviation experiences.

One recalled:

“on my first flight the senior ask me to bring the key of A/C while we leave tbe breifing office from the capt to open the aorcraft 😂😂😂😂😂😂”

Another commenter described a similar variation involving keys supposedly left on the captain’s desk.

Commercial aircraft don’t use an ordinary ignition key like a car does. But to someone who hasn’t yet become familiar with daily airline operations, a senior colleague’s confident instructions may sound convincing.

The comments on a Facebook post about Erica’s video added several other versions of the same idea.

One person remembered being sent to ask each pilot of a DC-10 which engine they were driving. Another said new ramp employees would be sent to maintenance to look for equipment that didn’t exist.

“On the ramp, the gag is to send a rookie to maintenance to ask for a bin stretcher, or a spool of flight line. 🤣”

The imaginary bin stretcher came up more than once. One former ramp worker recalled additional requests for wing racks to carry carpet beneath the wings and Armor All to polish airplane tires.

Another person remembered being given a task involving the aircraft’s radar:

“When I was a Ramp agent, my crew told me to hold up aluminum foil in front of the radome so the pilots can check their weather radar 😂. Gosh I miss that job and all my coworkers!”

From Counting Towels to a Very Expensive Fire Extinguisher Prank

Adriana’s video presents three levels of flight attendant pranks, beginning with relatively harmless requests and progressing to one that would be extremely serious if anyone actually followed through.

The first is a simple service request: “Can you serve a coke to 13C?”

The second tells a newcomer, “Before the end of each flight you need to count the remaining refreshing towels.”

The third is labeled “Hardcore”: “On your 1st flight you should practice discharging BCF in the lavatory.”

BCF stands for bromochlorodifluoromethane, a fire-extinguishing agent used in certain aircraft firefighting equipment. Discharging an extinguisher unnecessarily is not a harmless training exercise. It can create safety and operational problems, and no newcomer should treat such a request as a legitimate instruction.

Several viewers asked what BCF meant. One commenter explained that it was firefighting equipment and claimed an extinguisher could cost around $1,000. That figure was the commenter’s estimate, not a verified price for all aircraft equipment.

The less serious suggestions produced more memories from people who said they had worked on flights.

“The one I’ve done on a junior crew member is asked them to go into the flightdeck and ask for the hoover”

“upon arriving back to the base you have to collect the headrest cover with the blankets, I felt so bad for tha crew like so much 😂😂😂😂😂😂”

“Or they make you count sugar packets 😅”

Another person said they had been looking for a very particular piece of cleaning equipment on their first flight:

“Lol, on my very first flight, I was told to go and get the Business Class mop so we could use it in the Economy galley. I was searching and asking all the senior crew where I can find the mop. 😂 I’ll never forget that!”

And one commenter remembered how the prank continued after the aircraft had landed:

“on landing telling the newbie to ask the ground staff for a long stand…all ground staff play along with this and tell them to wait there 😂😂”

The joke, of course, was that the newcomer was sent to ask for a “long stand” and ended up standing around waiting. In that account, even the ground staff helped keep the prank going.

Passengers Sometimes Became Part of the Joke

Some of the stories weren’t about imaginary equipment at all. They involved making announcements, inventing identities, or giving passengers something unexpected to react to.

Under Erica’s video, one flight attendant said a captain had introduced her to passengers as someone they might recognize from a television show.

“Girl, on my first day the captain told the passengers that they might recognize me as a contestant of “Love Island”… and I had at least 3 people ask me if that was true 😭”

In the Facebook discussion, another person recalled a considerably more awkward introduction:

“On my first day the captain announced I was on the prison work release program that SWA had just joined and that they were happy to have me, but pax might want to keep an eye on their belongings.😂”

Other pranks reportedly involved passengers without necessarily making the new crew member the target.

One commenter described a pilot’s way of involving an entire cabin in a joke about a new first officer:

“I used to prank on new First Officers by making an announcement prior to landing that they please grade the first officer’s landing from 1 to 10. All the pax wrote their number on a barf bag and gave it to him on deplaning🤣❤️”

Another remembered being asked to make an announcement that sounded like a perfectly ordinary request for a passenger, until the name was said aloud:

“I had a captain ask me to page Anita Mann on the PA, this was 25 years ago. I did not gain a husband from the prank. My family still talks about it.”

Not everyone immediately realized what was happening, and some of the stories suggest passengers were just as puzzled as the new employees.

The M&Ms, the Sticky Note, and the Pranks That Didn’t Require Any Instructions

There were also tricks that didn’t involve asking a new flight attendant to perform an imaginary task.

One person commenting on Erica’s video remembered a trick involving the viewing windows on aircraft doors:

“At my previous airline, we used to put M&M’s in the porthole windows on the doors and close the shades. When we were prepping for take off or landing, we would tell the new hires to remember to open the shade. lol.”

A separate TikTok posted by @violetkhoury illustrates the M&M prank.

Another prank involved nothing more elaborate than a piece of paper attached to somebody’s uniform.

In an older clip shared by @truelives, a crew member has a sticky note reading “FAULTY STOCK” attached to the back of their uniform. Other people can see the message while the person wearing it goes about their work.

It’s the sort of prank that can produce laughs without the person wearing the note realizing why they’re getting attention.

One viewer called the prank genius, while another said it would annoy them. A reaction to the older crew-prank clip was even more skeptical:

“That’s a trip to HR these days.”

That difference in reactions appeared elsewhere in the discussion too.

Under Erica’s video, one French-speaking viewer commented:

“C’est tellement méchant…”

(Translation: “That’s so mean…”)

Another person remembered, “30 years ago when I started it was much much worse !”

But plenty of people described the jokes affectionately. One viewer called Erica’s experience an initiation, while others shared their own embarrassing first-day memories with obvious amusement.

Of course, not every new employee will find the same joke funny. There’s a difference between an experienced colleague giving someone an absurd but harmless task and pressuring a newcomer to do something embarrassing or potentially unsafe.

In Erica’s case, she chose to share the video herself. She said she’d had fun, expressed affection for her airline, and laughed along with the commenters who recognized the prank.

And if she ever ends up working with a new flight attendant who hasn’t heard of the cabin air test, she’ll certainly know what that plastic bag is for.