If you find flying annoying, imagine what it must be like to be a flight attendant.
The 12–18 hour shifts (depending on the length of the flight) and having to deal with needy passengers and whiny kids would be an absolute nightmare.
An online forum led by author and former flight attendant Abbie Unger, Flight Attendant Career Connection, had plenty of comments from fellow cabin crew colleagues, listing the top things they would like to tell their passengers.
Here are some selected highlights:
Wasting time with the drinks cart
“You’ve seen me walking down the aisle with the drink cart for 20 minutes already.” – Facebook user Corinne Spring
Ordering with your headphone on
“You are screaming at me.” – Facebook user Kimberly Lupo
Walking around barefoot
“Ewww!” – Facebook user Amber Nicole
Leaving rubbish in the seat pockets
“We walk through doing a garbage pick-up every 10 minutes!” – Facebook user Valerie Reiter Kennebeck
Touching your flight attendant
“A simple ‘Excuse me’ will get my attention.” – Facebook user Abbie Unger
Using the toilet before landing or during meals
“You’ve had HOURS to do so.” – Facebook user Joey DiGregorio
“Seriously… you’re in my way.” – Facebook user Corinne Spring
Hanging around in the galley
“Do I come to your office to do yoga and hang around?!” – Facebook user Nia Monet
Complaining about connection times
“Just stop booking such tight connections!” – Facebook user Diana Hadley
Asking to borrow a pen to fill out forms
“I DON’T have an unlimited supply in my pocket, and no, I won’t give you one; A) because it’s my favourite and B) because I’m required to have it on me at all times.” – Facebook user Lorisa Maxwell
What do you think? Are flight attendants right to get upset about these things? Or are they too precious? What is some of the worst behaviour you have seen on a flight?
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I think the comments are fair and reasonable, treat flight attendants with respect.
I agree with all of the comments except the one about use of the toilet.
I am a survivor of Cancer of the Bladder.
The major side affect of that is now, “When you GOT TO go, you HAVE to go”, irrespective of what time it is, and you can only hold on for a limited amount of time.
People forget that this is the flight attendent’s work place and they have a right to be treated with respect and be safe also. Some people absolutely lose their minds when they fly and think they can treat these workers like slaves. I have a close relative that works for one of the major airlines, and work on the ground and have so many stories about rude passengers that think the whole world revolves around them. I feel sorry for the flight attendents as they have nowhere to escape from these sort of people.