There are plenty of ways to annoy the person sitting next to you on a plane. I’ve written about a passenger clipping and filing her nails during a flight, someone who decided to make fresh pasta on her tray table, and even a passenger who climbed into an overhead bin. And those are just some of the things other passengers have witnessed onboard.
Flight attendants get a very different view. Celia recently shared her passenger “red flags” on TikTok, and her list sent me looking through what other flight attendants have said about the behaviors they hate, the things passengers repeatedly do and what they’ve actually had happen to them while working.
Some complaints came up more than once. Others were so disgusting or bizarre that I wouldn’t have imagined anyone doing them in the first place. Read on as one is more … surprising (to say the least) than the other!
ID 373888769 ©Kasto80 | Dreamstime.com
Handing Flight Attendants Dirty Diapers, Vomit Bags – or Used Gum
After six years as a flight attendant, Kat Kamalani had a very specific passenger “ick”: people trying to hand her things that nobody should reasonably expect another person to take with their bare hands.
“When someone handed you a poopy diaper or a barf bag and you didn’t have a garbage can with you, and they expect you to grab it with your hands.”
That alone would be enough to make the list. Then I found a flight attendant’s story in the comments under one of Celia Andrée‘s videos asking crew members about the wildest things they’d seen at 35,000 feet.
A passenger wanted the flight attendant to take his used chewing gum. She told him she’d get a napkin. He apparently wasn’t happy about waiting.
“Can you take my gum? Yes sir let me get a napkin to put it in. No you can put it in your hand I don’t want to wait for the napkin it’s gross the flavors gone.”
Instead of taking the gum in her bare hand, the flight attendant went to get what she needed. She didn’t return with only a napkin, either. According to her comment, she brought a bag, a napkin and a wipe for him.
Then this happened:
“…only to come back with a bag a napkin and extras like a wipe for him to have him spit it on me becuase I took to long and it lost its flavor.”
So, according to her account, the passenger didn’t merely expect a flight attendant to accept his chewed gum in her hand. When she went to get something hygienic to put it in, he spat the gum on her because she had taken too long. Kat’s dirty diaper and vomit bag suddenly don’t sound like isolated examples of passengers forgetting that they interact with other people..
Reaching Onto the Service Cart – or Going Into the Galley to Help Yourself
Celia mentioned two variations of the same problem: passengers taking things from crew-controlled areas instead of asking.
The first happens while she’s actively serving passengers:
“I’m serving with my drinks set up on my trolley – I am serving – and you decide to reach on my trolley to take anything out? Red flag. Please don’t do that.”
The second takes it further. She said some passengers wait until the cabin crew are busy and then “sneak into the galley to gather up drinks and snacks.”
Her verdict was even stronger this time: “You’re a thief. But also, red flag.”
Another flight attendant commenting under Celia’s earlier post had apparently encountered something very similar, writing that a passenger “tried to go in my cart and get him self a coke.”
Celia replied:
“What is it with them just thinking it’s okay to just come to galley and serve themselves ? Rude ! 😩”
Asking for another Coke is completely different from reaching into a flight attendant’s cart or walking into the galley and deciding it’s self-service.
Wearing So Much Fragrance That Other Passengers Feel Sick
Cher‘s rule about smells goes far beyond asking passengers to shower before boarding. As far as she’s concerned, smelling strongly of anything is a problem in an enclosed aircraft cabin.
“Smelling like anything on the plane should be illegal. I don’t care if it’s good or bad. No one wants to smell whatever fragrance you decided to wear today, whether it’s body odor, or a perfume, or cologne. It’s already an environment where people are prone to getting nauseous, so having an extra fragrance on top of that is just not a good mix.”
The comments under her video included passengers who had experienced exactly that problem. One person described a woman taking out lavender oil during a flight because she considered it “so soothing and relaxing.” The passenger sitting nearby had a very different reaction:
“On a flight, there was a woman that whipped out lavender oil because it was ‘so soothing and relaxing’ I went and vomited in the airplane bathroom.”
Another commenter wrote, “As someone who is smell sensitive AND gets airsick (I take a prescription) I REALLY appreciate that advice.” Someone else wanted people who don’t shower before flying to be fined, saying she’d been stuck beside passengers who smelled bad too many times.
What smells pleasant to one passenger can be overpowering to someone trapped beside them for the next several hours.
Bringing Strong-Smelling Food Into the Cabin
Cher returned to the subject of smells in a newer video about things she “absolutely hates” as a six-year flight attendant, this time focusing on food. Her description leaves little doubt about how she feels:
“Number one is a giant, stinky, aromatic to-go box of food on a flight. You had a choice. You could eat your food in the terminal like a normal person, or you could take that gigantic box along with your personal item and stink up at least nine rows in front and behind you.”
She also pointed out that passengers are eating shoulder-to-shoulder with people who didn’t choose to smell their meal. She was more forgiving on flights longer than five hours; what bothered her was seeing people bring these meals onto flights lasting around an hour and a half when they could have eaten in the terminal.
Her commenters had their own candidates for the list. One wrote, “eating instant noodles should be banned. The smell is so strong the whole cabin stinks, it makes me so nauseous.”
We’ve seen exactly how contentious airplane food smells can become. A passenger who ate garlic chicken on a plane sparked a huge debate after the man sitting in front of her complained about the smell. Some people thought she had every right to eat food she’d brought onboard; others thought choosing something strongly scented in an enclosed cabin was inconsiderate.
Fish, garlic, noodles, fast food – people have very different ideas about where the line should be. Cher’s line is considerably stricter: if a meal can “stink up” multiple rows, she’d rather passengers eat it before boarding.
ID 248109789 ©Dragoscondrea | Dreamstime.com
Spreading Into Someone Else’s Seat Space
Cher put manspreading first on her list of things she thought should be “illegal” on an airplane, specifically calling out passengers in middle seats who spread their knees into the space on either side.
“When I’ve been a passenger, I have had that numerous times where men will spread their knees all the way into my seat section or the other person on the other side of me, and it’s just unacceptable.”
Passengers in the comments had plenty of firsthand experience with this one. One described enduring it for 12 hours:
“On a 12hr flight the guy next to me had his legs spread open so far they were taking up his seat & most of mine. And his elbow kept digging in my ribs.”
Others explained how they respond when it happens. “If someone man spreads I just lean my legs against him. He’ll move and retract eventually,” one commenter wrote. Another said, “when they man spread in the middle i make myself as big as possible til they get the hint.”
With three passengers already squeezed into a row, losing part of your foot and leg space to the person beside you can turn a cramped seat into an even more uncomfortable one.
Going Barefoot – Especially Into the Airplane Lavatory
Bare feet came up independently in more than one flight attendant’s list. Cher Dallas, who had been a flight attendant for five years when she recorded one of her videos, was unequivocal about it:
“There is no time that is acceptable to have your bare toes out in the cabin. You seriously deserve to go to jail if you have your bare toes out when you go to the bathroom. I see this all the time, and it should be against the law, but in general, I don’t want to see your toes at all. Wear shoes, or wear socks, or both.”
Kat Kamalani mentioned exactly the same thing among her own passenger icks: “When you see someone go into the lavatory with no shoes on and bare feet.”
And Celia’s new red-flags video adds another lavatory behavior that apparently still needs to be said out loud: “You use the lavatory and you don’t flush? Red flag.”
If you’ve read my article about the filthiest parts of an airplane, you already know why walking barefoot into an airplane bathroom is something I wouldn’t consider. Keep it in mind when deciding what to wear on a plane, too.
Going Barefoot – Especially Into the Airplane Lavatory
Bare feet came up independently in more than one flight attendant’s list. Cher Dallas, who had been a flight attendant for five years when she recorded one of her videos, was unequivocal about it:
“There is no time that is acceptable to have your bare toes out in the cabin. You seriously deserve to go to jail if you have your bare toes out when you go to the bathroom. I see this all the time, and it should be against the law, but in general, I don’t want to see your toes at all. Wear shoes, or wear socks, or both.”
Kat Kamalani mentioned exactly the same thing among her own passenger icks: “When you see someone go into the lavatory with no shoes on and bare feet.”
And Celia’s new red-flags video adds another lavatory behavior that apparently still needs to be said out loud: “You use the lavatory and you don’t flush? Red flag.”
If you’ve read my article about the filthiest parts of an airplane, you already know why walking barefoot into an airplane bathroom is something I wouldn’t consider. Keep it in mind when deciding what to wear on a plane, too.
Opening the Overhead Bin as Soon as the Wheels Touch the Ground
One of Celia’s passenger red flags will be familiar to anyone who has watched people start preparing for their escape from the aircraft long before they’re actually allowed to leave.
“The minute the aircraft touches down, you wake up to open the overhead rack? Red flag.”
The aircraft hasn’t finished taxiing yet; the seatbelt sign may still be illuminated, and anything in an overhead bin may have shifted during the flight. Whatever someone urgently needs from the bin can wait until the aircraft reaches the gate and passengers are allowed to stand.
Ringing the Call Button During Turbulence, Climb or Landing
Kat’s list included “It’s turbulence, or you are climbing, or about to land the plane – people ringing the call light button.”
There’s an important difference between using the call button because something is genuinely wrong and using it because you want another drink while flight attendants are required to remain seated. Turbulence can injure cabin crew too, and a routine request can wait until it’s safe for them to move through the cabin again.
Smoking in the Lavatory
Celia didn’t need a long explanation for passengers who smoke in airplane bathrooms. She began, “Passengers who smoke in lavatories on a non-smoking flight…” and someone off camera immediately interrupted with a repeated “Why? Why? Why? Why?”
After the interruption, Celia finished the thought: “…red flag.”
Of all the behaviors on her list, this goes beyond being unpleasant or inconsiderate. Smoking aboard commercial aircraft is prohibited, and lavatory smoke detectors aren’t there for decoration.
This reminded me of the man who spent an hour inside a lavatory to do a 5k run… and bragged about it!
Answering “Chicken or Beef?” With “Fish”
Not all of Celia’s red flags involved hygiene, safety or bad behavior. One sounded more like the airline version of every customer-service worker’s favorite conversation:
“I say chicken or beef, you say fish? Red flag.”
Perhaps somewhere, on some flight, there really is a secret third option. Apparently Celia isn’t serving it.
Lying About Your Birthday So the Crew Will Celebrate You
I hadn’t considered that people might fake their birthdays to get attention from cabin crew until Celia included it on her list, which presumably means she’s encountered it enough to have an opinion.
“Passengers who lie about their birthdays just so we can celebrate them – you know we can check that, right? Red flag.”
If you’re going to invent a birthday for yourself, doing it somewhere your personal information is attached to your booking may not be the ideal strategy.
One More Thing Flight Attendants Notice: What You’re Doing on Your Phone
Some passenger behavior doesn’t affect the crew at all, but they may still notice it. Flight attendant Savannah described sitting in an airport and watching a man wearing a wedding ring continuously swiping through Bumble.
“And when I say scrolling and swiping, constantly! The entire time I was sitting there, and I was watching the whole thing unfold.”
She said it wasn’t the first time she’d seen a married man scrolling through dating apps or messaging people while traveling, and she had some advice for passengers who think whatever they’re doing on their phones is private:
“Your text is very large; I can read it, astronauts can read it! I was gonna say turn down your brightness or make your font smaller, but how about just don’t do it?”
That’s a very different sort of passenger red flag, but perhaps a useful reminder that an airplane seat isn’t a private room – and neither is an airport gate.
And Sometimes the Passenger Hasn’t Done Anything Wrong
Savannah shared another, much more innocent encounter. She tried to get a woman’s attention and, after repeatedly saying “Excuse me” without a response, gently tapped her shoulder.
The passenger was so startled that she knocked over her water:
“I scared her so bad that she flipped her tray table up and her entire cup of water fell on my feet, which was so fun because then I had to walk around with wet pantyhose and shoes for the rest of the flight.”
No red flag there, just an accident and a very unpleasant remainder of the flight for the person who had to continue working in wet shoes.
The Passenger Red Flags Flight Attendants Keep Mentioning
Across these videos, several complaints appeared more than once. Bare feet in the lavatory made both Cher’s and Kat’s lists. Strong smells came up in discussions about perfume, body odor and food. Celia had two separate complaints about passengers taking drinks or snacks without asking, while Kat and Celia’s commenter both described passengers expecting crew members to handle things nobody would want placed directly into their hands.
Some behaviors are inconsiderate, some are unhygienic and others create safety problems. Then there is the passenger who allegedly responded to a flight attendant getting him a napkin, bag and wipe by spitting his used gum on her because she’d taken too long.
Of everything these flight attendants shared, I think I’d have a hard time finding a bigger red flag than that.
What’s the worst passenger behavior you’ve seen on a flight?
One answer is perhaps this recent article I wrote about behaviors that wear them down and happen on almost every flight.
These are the videos I mentioned in the article – I cannot embed them all because it would make this article very hard to load:
- Celia – red flags video
- Celia – question for flight attendants video
- Cher – Things that should be illegal
- Cher – her list video
- Kat Kamalani – icks video
- Savannah – things that flight attendants notice video
More amazing articles for you:
Louis Vuitton’s Chocolate Has Travelers Flying Across the World - Here’s How to Get Your Hands on It
A local's guide to Selje, Norway
Italian Proverbs and Meanings: 70 Wise, Funny Sayings From Italy
Ill on Vacation/Holiday - What to Do Next
Local's Guide to Cebu City, Philippines with the best things to do in Cebu City, where to eat and st...
A Local's Guide to Glasgow
Top Bucket List Destinations for Adventure Seekers
Zurich off the beaten path: 21 unique things to do in Zurich
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.
