A Flight Attendant Asked One Simple Question. The 3,300+ Answers That Followed Are Incredible

I have read a lot of strange passenger stories over the years, but every once in a while I find a comment section that I simply cannot leave.

This was one of them. And trust me, you’ll want to keep reading, because some of these answers are so unexpected – and so funny – that they might just brighten your day.

Flight attendant Tommy asked other flight attendants a simple question: “What’s the funniest thing a passenger has asked you with a straight face?”

The post has reached 3.2 million views and attracted more than 3,370 comments, and the answers kept coming. Some made me laugh out loud, others left me wondering how anyone could ask that question with a straight face, and there are a few I genuinely wouldn’t have believed if other flight attendants hadn’t jumped in with similar stories of their own.

ID 238481553 ©Kostiantyn Voitenko | Dreamstime.com 

Sometimes You Have to Figure Out How to Continue the Conversation

One of the first comments that made me stop was this:

“Also I will never forget the time when a couple asked me if I speak polish. I apologized and said no. the asked about german then, same answer. Then they asked if I speak russian. Relieved, I said yes. They told me they didn’t.”

I laughed so hard I got tears in my eyes reading this, but I have to say, I am sure it didn’t come across as funny when it happened. I have several examples of situations like this that are funny in retrospect, and I can only imagine how that flight attendant felt in that moment, trying to figure out how to move forward with the conversation.

Another flight attendant had a very different language-related encounter:

“A passenger asked me why I didn’t answer him in Spanish. I told him I don’t know Spanish. He went on a tangent about how “Mexicans these days don’t care to speak their native language” I said “.. well I’m Korean so..””

And then there was a misunderstanding that ended with a passenger making goat noises:

“Not asked but there was this passenger who doesn’t speak english asking if there’s a GOAT for the meal option, I couldn’t understand it so he started making a sound of a goat to my face. I just swallowed my laughter. He was so adorable haha”

There were so many comments like this. It is unbelievable how many completely unexpected situations crew members have found themselves trying to navigate.

Did the Plane Stop in Midair?

One flight attendant shared this exchange:

“did we stop moving? I am looking out the window and see we are not moving” meanwhile at 33000ft -yes ma’am we got a red light

You might think this was a one-off question, but another flight attendant had heard something remarkably similar:

“is everything okay? i felt the plane moving…” ma’am the problem would be if the plane stopped… we’re 37.000 feet in the air rn

And there was another:

« Can you please ask the pilots if are we moving cuz I don’t think we are , I’m looking into the window and nothing is changing I think he stopped the plane »

Apparently not everyone thinks the airplane has stopped, though. Some passengers would prefer it to slow down:

“can you tell to the pilot to slow down? i had no words”

Someone else, later in the comments, had received a similar request – this time because the passenger thought the aircraft might actually be breaking a speed limit:

“A man asked me if we could fly slower, he thought we flew way to fast and that we had to be breaking the speed limit 🫪🫪 yeah right, 30.000 ft in the air ok buddy”

And then there was a passenger who apparently found an entirely different way to make the aircraft go faster:

“A passenger asked me if flight mode on their phone would help the plane fly faster. I stared at him and he screamed at everyone to turn their devices on flight mode so the plane could fly faster… 😭”

Could the Pilots Just Change a Few Things?

One passenger had another solution to make flying more comfortable:

“I was on an international flight a couple of days ago and they girl next to me was asking the flight attendant if she can ask the pilot if he can fly a little lower because she’s afraid of highs, I looked at the flight attendant and she was shocked”

Someone else wanted the captain to do something about the turbulence:

“ Can you ask the captain to stop shaking the plane?, coz I cannot sleep “ ( it’s a turbulence) 😭

Another passenger was concerned that the captain had changed the route:

“A passenger asked us why the captain had changed the route because “we weren’t flying the usual way”🫪 Outside was only clouds. During disembark she told us to ask the captain and tell him to warn passengers next time😂”

And then there was this request:

“Can you please call my son and tell him we’re landing at Venice instead of Treviso?”

Windows, Parachutes, Planets and Smoking Areas

I would have thought asking to open an airplane window at cruising altitude was one of those stories a flight attendant might hear once in an entire career.

“A passenger once asked me if we could open a window because they needed some fresh air… while we were flying at 35,000 feet. I had to explain that, unfortunately, airplane windows don’t open.”

But so many flight attendants said they had received this request too. Apparently, explaining that airplane windows cannot be opened at 35,000 feet comes up more often than I would ever have guessed.

Another passenger was concerned about a different piece of safety equipment:

“Where are the parachutes?
-We don’t have parachutes.
-So you’re telling me we’re going to die?”

And one passenger was thinking beyond the aircraft entirely:

“With a straight face a guy asked if we are gonna be flying past any planets. I just looked back with a smirk and said I’m not sure but keep looking out the window and let me know 😂”

Others were looking for somewhere to smoke:

“A passenger asked me where is the smoking area 🙂🙂”

Another simply asked:

“can i have an ashtray”

And one passenger apparently thought the smoking rule might be negotiable:

“I said “you need to put out that cigarette right now!”, he handed me a $40 and asked “what about now”? completely serious”

Some Passengers Apparently Expected Childcare Too

A first-class passenger had a rather unexpected request:

“First Class PAX “ Can you change my baby’s diaper””

Another passenger apparently thought looking after the baby was part of the crew’s responsibilities:

“PAX: Where should I put my baby? ME: In your lap since it doesn’t look like you brought a carrier. PAX: But YOURE supposed to take care of them, so I can rest. 🙄”

And one parent had a movie to finish:

“Can you hold my daughter so I can finish the rest of my movie? She keeps pulling out my headphones”

Business class produced another request that caught my attention:

“A woman in business asked for a banana and I told her we didn’t have any. She then asked me to go down to economy and ask the passengers there if they had brought any she could have since ”she assumed people *down there* usually brought their own food”.”

The Food and Drink Questions Deserve Their Own Section

One Ryanair passenger apparently had high hopes for dessert:

“What kind of ice creams do you have?” (i work for ryanair)

Another passenger ordered whiskey:

“One pax ordered whiskey I asked: “On the rocks?” he then replied, “No. On the table.” and he was dead serious”

A missing drink was serious enough for another passenger to question why the aircraft had departed:

“Why did u take of without having tomato juice on board?” I replied with a straight face “sir, as far as I know the plane doesn’t run on tomato juice but on kerozine” he didnt appreciate it that much🤭

Then there was the omelette:

“does the cheese omelette come with eggs?” I asked him to repeat so he could rethink his question but it didn’t work

The water order didn’t go much better:

“Do you have still water?-yes- Oh nice can I get a sparkling one?”

And I still cannot believe someone asked this:

“is there red sauce in the red wine?”

Another crew member overheard this exchange:

“I heard in a flight once crew: “We have chicken nuggets “ guy: “is it vegetarian?””

“Can We Go Back? I Left My Phone at the Airport”

Leaving something at the gate is bad enough. One passenger apparently thought the aircraft could simply return:

“Can we go back cuz i left my phone at the airport ..”

Someone replied with an even more surprising version of the same problem:

“She told me that she will sue the company cause she left the phone at the gate and we were not responsible of the situation”

And then added:

“It happens usually”

Usually.

A baggage handler had another phone-related story, although in this case the AirTag was doing exactly what it was supposed to do:

“Baggage handler. Passenger angrily comes up to me shoving his phone in my face, asking where his bag (airtag attached) is. I look at the unclaimed bag I’d taken off the carousel, which clearly has an airtag. He didn’t recognize his own bag, and watched it go around the carousel for who knows how long 😭”

Then We Got to the Passports

One flight attendant was asked:

“Where are the toilet for American passeport holders 😂”

As unbelievable as that sounds, another person replied:

“No for real I had a passenger ask this but for British passport holders”

And someone apparently hoped passports were transferable:

“Can I travel with my wife passport?”

But the story that really got me came from someone who had worked in travel:

“Not cabin crew but I worked in travel. I told a woman I needed her to send me a passport photo – SHE CUT THE PHOTO OUT OF HER ACTUAL PASSPORT AND SENT IT TO ME 😭”

Someone replied:

“I refuse to believe this 🤣 pls tell me you’re joking 😩”

But the person who posted the story confirmed it:

“It’s been 10 years and I still tell this story to anyone who will listen. There’s a level of stupidity that you only see in travel, istg.”

This immediately reminded me of the passenger who cut her ID because it didn’t fit in her wallet and was then refused boarding. At the time, cutting an identification document because it was too large for a wallet sounded like one of those situations you couldn’t imagine happening very often, and yet here was someone in the comments with a woman who had taken scissors to her actual passport.

There Is No Bar Downstairs

One Ryanair passenger tried to open an occupied lavatory, but apparently he wasn’t looking for the toilet:

“While working with Ryanair, a pax tried to open the door of the toilet, I told him that was busy and he literally said “no I don’t need the toilet, I just want to go the the bar downstairs”.”

Someone else was looking for another amenity:

“A passenger once asked me if we have an ATM in the plane… my face was like🐤”

And then there was the passenger who asked a uniformed crew member a fairly fundamental question:

“ Are you a flight attendant ? » while I’m briefing them at the emergency exit I just replied « no I’m just a huge fan »”

She Changed Seats – Then Discovered the Second Wing

This story started with a completely reasonable request to change seats so the passenger could get better photos. What happened next was not what the flight attendant expected:

“We had just finished boarding and had the “boarding complete” from our senior. The flight was pretty empty. A passenger rang her bell and asked me if she was able to move as she wanted to take pictures and the wing was in the way. I said yes and told her she can move to any empty seat. Fast forward a few minutes and another bell went off. I went to check only to find the same women in her new seat. He next comment floored me …. she said “I’ve moved seats but there is a wing on this side as well” My reply “yes madam, an aircraft needs 2 wings to fly” I couldn’t stop laughing all the way back to the galley.”

Some Requests Came at the Worst Possible Time

A passenger wanted coffee while the crew was dealing with an unconscious person:

“Tapped on my shoulder and asked me to get him a coffee while I was setting up an unconscious person up to oxygen..”

Another flight attendant described an almost identical situation:

“We were dealing with a very serious medical case, I was next to the passenger holding the oxygen bottle. A huge green one. Passenger approached me and said “can you give me a coke?” Mind yo the sick passenger was lying on the floor with legs up and everything.. 😭”

Shoes, Smells and Other Passengers

One passenger thought there might be an electrical problem aboard the aircraft:

“Pax with deadly serious face, ‘I think I can smell electrical burning’ ….. pax behind had taken his trainers off 🤢”

Removing shoes and going barefoot aboard a plane is a common complaint among passengers, and I’ve seen enough stories about barefoot passengers to know how strongly people feel about it. It also came up when flight attendants shared their passenger red flags and the behaviors they notice aboard a flight.

Another passenger identified a different smell and wanted the flight attendant to intervene:

“A visibly angry and irritated passenger calls me over. I approach him, and he says: “Could you please ask whoever is farting to stop farting?””

One Passenger Wanted to Practice Opening the Exit

And yes, apparently someone actually asked this:

“can i practise opening the exit” – (R MED) i said no she goes “well that’s silly isn’t it” 😳😳😳😳😳

Another passenger needed information the flight attendant couldn’t possibly have:

“Passenger: “Where’s the toilet?” Me: “Right in front of you, but it’s occupied.” Passenger: “When will he be done?” 🥲”

Sometimes the Flight Attendant Is the One Who Wants the Ground to Open Up

Not every story in the comments was about a passenger saying the wrong thing. One flight attendant volunteered this one:

“I think I was the worst. I said to 2 passengers “we’ve been waiting for you. Didn’t you hear my calls”. Them “no.. we’re deaf”. I wanted the ground to open up.”

I can imagine the exact second when the answer registered.

And the Questions Didn’t Stop at Airplanes

Cruise ship crew joined the discussion too:

“How do you guys get off the ship at night to sleep?” I work on a cruise ship..

Another crew member had a question that, amazingly, wasn’t even a one-off:

“Crew member on cruise ships here. The best one so far for me: “Are the stairs going up or down?”. The worst part? I got it from multiple people in embarkation day 😅🤣😂”

A ferry passenger wanted something done about the movement of the sea:

“I worked as a cadet on a ferry when a passenger asked me if we could stabilize the boat more. I replied that I would ask the waves to stop and the captain to drop anchor so we could all be comfortable. 😭😭😭”

And someone working at TSA watched a traveler develop his own approach to getting through a metal detector:

“working at TSA: one time, i was watching the metal detector, and a man that had to go trough, watched me, watched the metal detector, got down on his knees, started praying and kneeling for 5 minutes, then he got up, walked trough, he watched me and said “see? it didn’t alarm” and went away. i started looking around to be sure that i wasn’t in a dream”

A Few More I Couldn’t Leave Out

One woman had a very specific reason for not wanting to sit by the window:

“my mom used to work for an airline & a lady told her “i cant sit by the window i just got my hair done.””

A passenger flying from Boston to Dublin wanted to know:

“Boston > Dublin “Do you know will we be flying over water today?” 🤦🏽‍♀️”

Someone tried to check a rather minimalist piece of luggage:

“Can I check this in?” *holding up a single shirt on a wire hanger* they were dead serious too”

And with 45 minutes remaining on a three-hour flight, someone asked:

“hi, may i ask where are we going?” with 45mins flight time (3hr flight)

Then there was this:

“I got asked to tie someone’s shoelaces. Also got asked for tampons by an elderly lady who opened them & put them in her ears 😳”

Some Passenger Choices Can Affect Everyone Around Them

One person wasn’t a flight attendant, but overheard a conversation from the passenger behind them:

“I was a passenger… and the man behind me said: why do I have to think about ppl who are allergic to nuts? It’s not like I’m forcing them to eat it.”

That immediately reminded me of the woman who decided to cook pasta aboard a plane – and I mean actually prepare the pasta, not simply bring a cooked meal with her. In an enclosed cabin shared with hundreds of other people, food choices can become someone else’s problem too, especially when allergies are involved.

One Comment Said It Best

After reading story after story from flight attendants, airport employees, cruise ship crew and other people who work with travelers every day, I reached a comment that summed up my reaction rather well:

“Oh my God! Reading the comments…. I’ve always had huge respect for the flight crews, but what are people going throuuuugh…”

And somewhere among those thousands of comments was someone still studying to become cabin crew, who had already completed two flights and was reconsidering what might be waiting ahead:

“i study a lot to become cabin crew member and i only did 2 flights sorry cant handle all this 😂”

You can read all the comments here – Tommy ✈ Cabin Crew Life’s post on TikTok

Violeta Loredana

Violeta-Loredana Pascal is a communications expert, business mentor, and the founder of Earth’s Attractions and PRwave INTERNATIONAL. A pioneer in the Romanian digital PR landscape since 2005, she holds a degree in Communication and Social Sciences from SNSPA Bucharest. Violeta is a senior trainer at AcademiadeAfaceri.ro, where she leverages over 20 years of experience to teach professional courses in PR strategy and workplace productivity. By blending high-level business consulting with a passion for holistic travel and wellness, she empowers solopreneurs to overcome procrastination, build profitable brands, and design a life of purposeful adventure.