If you have never had another passenger annoy you during one of your flights, count yourself lucky! Most travelers have run into a passenger that irritated them at some point during a flight. The more you fly, the more often you see (or smell) passengers that clearly aren’t the rest of the flight’s favorite character. In a recent survey, travelers were asked which behaviors from other passengers annoyed them.
Below are the top 10 most annoying passengers on flights, as well as the percentage of respondents who found their behaviors annoying.
1) Passengers Who Kick the Seat
Percentage of Respondents: 59.11%
Unsurprisingly, passengers found those who kicked the back of their seats to be one of the most annoying things a fellow passenger can do. As a direct physical attack on travelers’ personal space and comfort, it makes sense that this is at the top of the list.
2) Passengers Who Get Drunk and Unruly
Percentage of Respondents: 59.11%
Drunk and unruly passengers tied with seat kicking for 1st place, and it’s no surprise why. Once you are thousands of feet in the air in a metal tube, there’s no way to walk away from a situation. Unfortunately, some passengers can’t handle their alcohol, leading to highly uncomfortable and even dangerous situations like the one below.
@disgruntled_trini Drunk airline passenger🥴 #🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹 #trinitiktokers🇹🇹🆙️🔥 #trinidad #trini_tiktoks #fypシ #foryou #foryourpage #you #disgruntled_trini #PNM #for
In the best case, you’ll have to put up with snoring from someone who had a few too many. In the worst case, threats of physical violence have occurred. This particular behavior can go from annoying to dangerous quite quickly.
3) Passengers Who Smell Bad (or too Good)
Percentage of Respondents: 48%
Nearly half of respondents said passengers who smell bad from poor hygiene or wear too much cologne annoy them. Being stuck in a giant flying tube with hundreds of other people is bad enough. Add in unpleasant smells, and it becomes a whole different experience.
4) Passengers Who Are Negligent Parents
Percentage of Respondents: 46.81%
Trailing behind bad-smelling passengers are parents who aren’t attentive during flights. Almost half of the respondents said parents who don’t attend to their children annoy them on flights. Unfortunately, this behavior often coincides with the #1 most annoying thing – seat kicking.
5) Passengers Who Eat Strong-Smelling Foods
Percentage of Respondents: 39.8%
Similar to #3, passengers who eat foods with a pungent smell can annoy the people around them. However, these smells aren’t quite as annoying as passengers who smell bad.
6) Passengers Who Hog the Armrest
Percentage of Respondents: 39.07%
Nearly two out of five respondents thought passengers who hog the armrest are annoying. You probably understand what they mean if you’ve been stuck in the middle seat with two armrest hogs.
7) Passengers Who Recline the Seat All the Way
Percentage of Respondents: 38.25%
Reclining the seat on an airplane has been a debate among travelers for years. Still, about 38% of respondents agreed that this was annoying behavior.
8) Passengers Who Talk to You Too Much
Percentage of Respondents: 29.87%
Getting stuck in a conversation is a nightmare for many travelers, but at least while on land, the option of walking away is available. Thousands of feet in the air, there’s no getting away from a talkative passenger. However, beginning the flight with headphones may help avoid getting caught in unwanted conversation.
9) Passengers Who Board or Deplane Out of Turn
Percentage of Respondents: 29.60%
Everyone has witnessed the eager passengers who jump out of their seats and dash down the aisle only to wait for the plane doors to open. Maybe they are afraid of missing a connecting flight, or perhaps that’s just how they are. Either way, nearly 3 in 10 respondents found this annoying.
10) Passengers Who Listen Have Their Headphones Turned Up Too Loud
Percentage of Respondents: 28.96%
Planes are loud as it is and often drown out a lot of background noise. If someone’s music is so loud that you can hear it, it’s probably too loud. This trailed just behind passengers who skip their turn boarding, with just under 3 in 10 saying loud music or movies annoy them.
Noteworthy Extras
Several more annoying passengers that didn’t make the top 10 were passengers who take off their shoes, passengers who use overhead space far in front of their seat, and passengers who practice too much PDA. One thing remains clear. Packing a few hundred people together in an enclosed space for a few hours can certainly bring out some behaviors that annoy fellow passengers.
