A while back, we wrote a post where flight attendants shared the most entitled things passengers have done. In the comments, fellow passengers — and even other flight attendants — shared the wildest things they've witnessed on a flight. Here are the shocking results:
Note: Some responses were pulled from this Reddit thread by u/glittercorpse.
1. "I'm a flight attendant. Had a lady dramatically insist that she be allowed to freely roam the aisles, even during takeoff/landing, because she’s claustrophobic. She also demanded free drinks and was absolutely appalled when I had to cut her off after her sixth."
"This was on a four-hour flight that she claimed she took regularly."
2. "I had a flight last summer get delayed by 45 minutes because some guy registered his kids as 'infant in laps,' which meant he didn’t need seats for them because they’d be in his lap the whole time. Turns out, the kids were 5 and 6, and he literally stole seats from someone else and flat-out refused to leave the plane because that would ruin his kids’ vacations."
3. "One time, I was on a flight back from Europe. A man who probably hadn’t showered in a week got on, and the plane smelled rancid until they turned on the AC. Once we took off, the man — who was wearing sandals — put his bare feet on the armrests in between the seats in front of him. Long, disgusting toenails included. A flight attendant saw him and told him he couldn’t do that."
"When the passenger in front of him put her seat back to sleep (it was a nine-hour flight where everyone was doing the same), he started pushing repeatedly on the back of her seat. Luckily, the girl stood her ground and didn’t put her seat back up. I don’t know what is wrong with some people."
4. "On a flight, I saw a man berate the flight attendant because they let employees of the airline board before the customers. He was so angry because he 'paid for business select! They didn’t pay for anything, so why are they boarding before me?!' Flight attendant responded saying it’s company policy — many were actually working and just need to get to the airport they’ll be leaving from. And there were also only three on the flight, so what’s the big deal anyway? He continued to whine and complain to her for another 10 minutes or so."
"All because now there were only 140 seats to choose from instead of 143. Boohoo."
5. "I'm a flight attendant. While the plane was declining to land, I had a guy continuously push his call button and give me annoyed hand gestures/facial expressions for, like, five straight minutes because he wanted another drink. I would’ve had to unlatch a cart and use all of my body weight to prevent it (and me) from hurtling down the aisle toward the cockpit in order to get this dodo a damn sip of Diet Coke."
6. "I was on a flight from O'Hare to Orlando sitting in the window seat. A couple sat beside me with the guy in the middle seat. Her mother sat in the aisle seat behind her. The couple was going to Disney World for their wedding. She was the stereotypical bridezilla, and he was so nervous, he was actually shaking. He spilled three drinks in a row on me!!! Then, his fiancée started screaming at him because he was talking to me too much because he was apologizing to me."
"Somehow, I doubt they're still married."
7. "I was boarding a long international flight, and saw one woman get to her seat and start throwing other people’s bags out of the overhead bin and into the aisle, screaming about how the space above HER seat is for HER bag. Obviously, it doesn’t work that way, but the flight attendants were quick to placate her so they could continue boarding."
8. "I was on a flight, and this older man and his toddler sat in the row behind me. His toddler sat for takeoff, while kicking my seat continuously really hard and pulling my hair. After takeoff, the child refused to stay in his seat for more than a few minutes at a time — pushing other seats, throwing things, crying, pulling my hair and that of other passengers, etc. The flight attendant repeatedly told the man the child needed to be seated, but he would just reply he won’t stay and kept watching the in-flight movie and ignoring what his child was doing to others. At one point, when the flight attendant asked him to seat the child again, he expected her to do it for him."
"Eventually, the kid stays put because the man let the kid stand in his seat (and figured that’s good enough until we begin descending). This made it easier for the kid to pull at other peoples’ hairs and pinch them. The man didn’t once apologize to other passengers. The best part was shortly into this four-hour flight, it starts to smell like 💩, really bad. Turns out, the kid pooped his diapers, and this man did not bring any additional diapers. He expected the flight attendant to have some AND change it — which she did not. I don't know why this man expected flight attendants to take care of his child for him. Poor kid. I can imagine it was uncomfortable for him, and of course, he wouldn’t want to sit like that. The smell was horrible for the remainder of the flight and filled most of the area in the cabin, even though the flight attendants tried things to help with the smell, but he still had his dirty diaper on the whole flight, so you could still strongly smell it. The flight attendants apologized, even though it wasn’t their fault. Everyone couldn’t wait to get off the plane once we landed. As everyone was getting off, the flight attendants told the man to next time make sure he packs diapers and is better prepared to fly with the child."
9. "I'm a flight attendant and had someone have a meltdown because I had to have them properly stow their wedding dress. The thing was massive and spilling into the aisle, blocking seats of the entire row. They may have had to pay the hotel to get the wrinkles out, but I likely saved them from shoe prints and beverage cart rollers going back and forth over it."
"Still, she was in tears, and I was not going to risk others' safety, including my own."
10. "I was on a flight and was unfortunately seated in the middle. I had put my carry-on bag in the overhead compartment and just kept a book out to read. I did it intentionally so that I could be more comfortable stretching my legs. The man seated in the aisle seat boarded late, put his carry-on in the bin above us, and then reached over and slid his laptop bag under the seat in front of me. He then sat down, stretched out his legs and proceeded to shut his eyes. I was shocked by his nerve and immediately asked him to move his laptop bag. He ignored me."
"So, I picked it up, dropped it on the floor, and kicked it under his legs. I then opened my book and started to read. He glared at me, but then put it under the seat in front of him. We didn't speak for the entire flight as you can imagine."
11. "I was on a five-hour flight to Atlanta when the woman behind me decided to start painting her nails. Five hours of smelling someone’s nail polish fumes is a no-go to me, so I told her to stop. She protested but stopped. Getting death glares from her and her friend in the next seat was well worth it."
12. "I was on a flight with really bad turbulence. It went on for about 10 minutes, and then the old lady next to me reaches up and presses her button. A flight attendant walks over to see if the woman is okay, and the woman begins to yell at the attendant for the rough flight and that she’s been flying her whole life and clearly the pilot has no idea what he’s doing. The attendant just walked away."
13. "I was a passenger, but on a three-hour flight a few years ago, I lucked into having an empty seat between myself and the other person (a stranger) in my row. I took out my Kindle to do some reading. Next thing I know, this stranger has moved into the seat next to me and is resting her head on my shoulder to read along. I asked, 'Can I help you?' And she just says, 'I forgot to bring a book.' And then, started shoving Skittles in her mouth, while still on my shoulder. I just said, 'Nope, we’re not doing this,' shrugged her off me, and put away my Kindle."
"Like, if she had asked, I would have been happy to hold it in the seat between us so she could read, too, but I really didn’t need the snuggles."
14. "I was on a flight once where parents were traveling with their kids but had seats in two different rows. They put the kids in one row and sat together in the other row. Luckily, these were really good kids who stayed seated and colored the whole flight. The kid on the aisle did drop their crayon once. It rolled close to me (opposite aisle seat), so I picked it up and gave it back to him. He then dropped crayons a few more times...I think, just to get me to pick it up."
15. "My girlfriend’s mom is a flight attendant. One time, a woman got quite angry because her daughter spilled apple juice all over, and there wasn't a clothes dryer on the plane for her daughter's sweater."
16. "I once had a man chat with me for the entirety of a three-hour flight. He was nice, but he was chewing tobacco and spitting it into a clear water bottle the entire time. It was super gross."
And finally...
17. "I was on a Vegas to Boston flight when a passenger passed away in his sleep. The whole situation was heartbreaking, and the flight attendants were clearly shaken. We stopped in NY for emergency personnel to attend to him. The whole process was very quick, and the pilot and staff handled it like champs. Just as we were about to take off, a guy in the front row asks the attendant if we would all get free drinks due to the inconvenience. I've never wanted to yell at a stranger so much in my life."
WOW. Whether you're a flight attendant or a passenger, what's the most entitled thing you've ever seen someone do on a flight? Let us know in the comments below.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.