The 25 most annoying things people do on planes - according to flight attendants

There are many bad things you can do on an aeroplane, most of which I don’t need to go into here, but what are the ones that annoy flight attendants the most?

Well, Business Insider asked a bunch, and the results are mostly to be expected, but there are some surprises in there – you’ve probably done a couple of these things without realising you’re pissing anyone off. But then that’s just you, isn’t it.

Anyway, here’s the list in full, complete with comments from the frustrated staff:

Hogging the overhead storage
"Put the suitcases in the overhead and put your small bags underneath the seat in front so we don't have to run out of space and have to check bags."

Not saying hello
"I wish passengers would acknowledge the crew when they board."

Poor timing
"Stop trying to hand us trash on the beverage cart or asking us to take your trash while we're handing out food."

Putting feet on walls or other passengers' seats
"I don't come into your office and put my feet on your walls or your desk!"

Asking, 'What do you have?'
"There is literally an announcement telling you where to find the menu. We have 100 drinks if you count alcohol, and you want me to list it? While 200 other people wait for their drinks?"

Not listening to the safety presentation
"Be a little more respectful of crew while we are just trying to do our job."

Not specifying how you take your coffee
"When you order coffee tell me whether you want cream and/or sugar so I don't have to ask for the millionth time."

Not taking responsibility for your belongings
"Don't bring your heavy carry-on on board the aircraft and then ask me to put it in the overhead bin for you because it is too heavy for you to do it."

Occupying the toilets once you see that the aircraft is descending
"This leads to flight delays."

Keeping your headphones on
"Please take the headphones off when we come by and ask you what you would like to drink."

Ringing the call button unless it's truly necessary
"Don't ring call bells when we've already announced that flight attendants have to be seated, right after takeoff, or for silly reasons."

Touching flight attendants to get their attention
"I have been poked, prodded, and tugged on too many times to remember."

Getting up to use the lavatory when the seat belt sign is on
"When you remind them that the sign is on, they usually respond with some version of saying, 'But I have to go.' Well, unless you are two years old, do you wait until the absolute last minute to use the toilet?"

Thinking the world is coming to an end because you didn't get your first meal choice
"It's a plane ride, not a five-star hotel or restaurant. Stop getting bent out of shape over receiving your second meal choice."

Acting entitled
"Stop trying to sneak into an upgrade seat."

Going barefoot
"Please, please, please stop walking into the restroom barefoot, or even with socks on. Would you ever walk into a public restroom barefoot? No. Thank you, sir, for mopping up the pee on the floor with your socks."

Snapping your fingers
"'Excuse me, miss!' works every time."

Galley yoga
"Getting up and wanting to stretch in our galleys like its a yoga studio or wanting to stand in our galleys is annoying. The galley is our only work area, and we have nowhere else to go because our seats are in the galley by the doors."

Getting upset with flight attendants for things that clearly aren't their fault
"I agree, it sucks that the flight got canceled and you'll miss something important. I was supposed to go home and see a concert. Now I'm stuck in this small metal tube with you yelling at me."

Expecting flight attendants to have all the information from the captain
"We know maybe 5% of what they do. We don't know how bad the weather is, why we are taking a new route, or why we can't land early. But believe it's for your safety!"

Clipping your toenails
"I've seen people clipping toenails. It's very gross, and you can't make them stop. And it's not an infrequent thing, believe it or not."

Watching porn
"I've seen people watching porn on the plane. One guy had the whole row to himself and you had to be standing up and walking behind him to see that he was watching porn. I was like, 'Really?' What do I say to that? There weren't any little children around, so there wasn't anything to say. But there was one guy I could see was watching porn on his phone, and because it was nighttime, you could see the reflection on the window. I did point that out to him because I didn't think everybody needed to see that."

Trying to get freebies
"People sometimes come on plane and hint for a free drink: 'The plane was delayed 10 minutes, is there a free drink for me for that?' 'Drinks are on the captain right?' I just grin and smile. 'Smile and wave boys,' that's what I say."

BYOB-ing it
"Some people will go to the local liquor store and bring their mini bottles of booze on the plane. We always know who you are; we always find it. You can't serve yourself. We need to know how much you've had to drink so we're not overserving you, because the higher you fly and the longer you go, the more the alcohol affects your brain."

Making demands as soon as you board
"Boarding is one of the most stressful parts of the job with all of the required safety checks and federal rules we have to follow. So when people come on board and immediately demand water to take a pill or snacks for a diabetic, it always makes me wonder why that couldn't have been taken care of in the airport."

So yeah, you’ve done some of them, haven’t you? I assume they’re mostly to do with booze (same), but just have a little think and a read of this before you board next time, the staff are people like you, not drink-spouting robots oblivious to human emotion.

And OF COURSE don’t get your feet out. Remember when the most disgusting thing to have ever happened on a plan occurred? Exactly, put them away, for the love of God.

(Image: iStock)