Travelling on a plane can be a stressful experience regardless of whether you are flying short haul or long haul. There’s a busy airport to contend with, your luggage and the never-ending security line – and that’s all before you even get on the plane! If, like most of us, you can only afford to economy flights then you’re lumped in with everyone else in those cramped and uncomfortable seats. Still, it’s not the seats (or even the questionable food choices) that bothers people so much. It turns out it’s actually their fellow passengers that tend to get on people’s nerves.
A recent study revealed that it’s actually the annoying habits of fellow plane passengers that troubles people the most when they fly. Out of 5,000 travellers surveyed, 60 per cent of people said that smelly passengers are their biggest problem. 41 per cent of respondents said that crying children really grind their gears while 37 per cent dislike passengers who are rude to flight attendants. Seat kickers are also a major bug bear and 33 per cent of respondents said they would prefer reclining seats to be banned completely or at the very least restricted.
10 per cent of passengers said they would still recline their seats even if the passenger behind them was pregnant.
However, perhaps those seat recliners should be grateful for a pregnant passenger rather than a plastered one. Drunk passengers were high on the list of offensive flyers with 45 per cent of respondents saying that getting drunk at 35,000 feet was a no-no. However 10 per cent of respondents still admitted to typically having more than two drinks during their flight.
Other annoying habits that made the list include chatty passengers, unattended children and passengers who listen to music loud enough for their neighbour to hear. Queue jumpers, seat spreaders, sock removers, frequent toileters, complainers, overhead locker hogs, fussers and arm rest wrestlers were all on the list of painful passengers.
The most annoying airplane passengers are those who display complete disregard for the comfort of the other passengers around them.
So unless you can afford to upgrade yourself to business class for all your flights in the foreseeable future, it seems you may still be forced to contend with the annoying habits of your fellow passengers. The best way to deal with that? Crack open a drink, put your head phones on and just chill out for the next few hours. Just make sure you don’t drink too much, listen too loud or spread out too much or you may just find that the annoying passenger is actually you!
