The most annoying air travel behaviours revealed – and Gen Z are the worst offenders
THE most annoying air travel behaviours have been revealed by a survey, with passengers airing their frustrations at the likes of people who hog armrests, those who remove their shoes and others.
The study of 2,000 flyers highlighted the biggest bugbears when travelling by plane, with people annoying one another in the air in many different ways.
Unsurprisingly, passengers drinking too much was mentioned regularly, with 48 per cent of people saying drunk people were the worst to sit next to on flights.
Others get irritated with travellers who queue at the gate long before boarding begins, clap when the plane lands or stand right next to the spot where luggage comes out at the carousel.
Draping hair over the back of the seat – and across the screen of the person behind – is also an unpopular behaviour, with several people sharing pictures of this phenomenon online in recent years.
More conventional annoyances, like reclining seats back just as food and drinks are served and holding up security or check-in queues by not being ready, also made the list.
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A spokesperson for Skyscanner, who commissioned the research to launch its , said: “For many, getting on a plane is the start of your long-awaited holiday, but the dos and don’ts of air travel can often cause a big debate.
“Navigating an airport – check-in, security and queues – is often considered a stressful experience, meaning our tolerance levels are lower than usual.
“With many on the plane heading off on holiday, they could be forgiven for relaxing and getting into vacation mode early.
“But it’s important to consider your fellow travellers when doing something that could be seen as irritating – if you would be annoyed by it, it’s probably a sign that you should try and avoid doing it yourself.
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“Our recent survey found that although many travellers could point out behaviour they didn't like to see when travelling, some admitted to being guilty of the faux pas themselves."
The study saw 12 per cent of those polled admit to doing some of the annoying behaviours, despite saying they didn't like it when other people did them.
A quarter of those have taken their shoes and socks off on the plane while 19 per cent have held things up at security after forgetting to remove certain items.
Meanwhile, 17 per cent stand up as soon as the plane lands in a bid to get off as soon as possible.
Gen Z believe themselves to be most guilty of unwanted plane behaviour (22 per cent), followed by millennials (18 per cent), and Boomers (seven per cent).
The younger generation think they are the biggest culprits for overpacking and holding up the check-in queue as they repack, reclining their seats while the food is being served or draping their hair over the back of their seats.
But Boomers admitted they are most likely to forget to remove metal items before going through security and standing up as soon as the plane has landed.
When it comes to the right thing to do, 74 per cent of those polled, via OnePoll, think you should ask the person behind if they mind you reclining your seat before you push the button.
And 81 per cent would support a rule banning passengers from reclining their seat while food and drinks are being served.
More than two thirds (69 per cent) would also like the plane to be disembarked row by row to stop people standing up as soon as the plane has landed in the rush to get off.
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Top 20 Worst Traveller Behaviours
Top 20 Worst Traveller Behaviours
- 1. Drinking too much alcohol on the flight (48 per cent)
- 2. Parents letting their children run around on the plane (48 per cent)
- 3. Queue-cutters (43 per cent)
- 4. Reclining your seat while the food and drinks are served (43 per cent)
- 5. Reclining your seat back at any point during the flight (40 per cent)
- 6. Using gadgets without headphones (35 per cent)
- 7. Standing up as soon as the plane lands (33 per cent)
- 8. Leaving bags on the seat to get comfortable when you’re trying to sit down (31 per cent)
- 9. Double arm rest hoggers (31 per cent)
- 10. Draping hair over the back of the seat (28 per cent)
- 11. Taking up multiple seats in the departure lounge (28 per cent)
- 12. Not separating liquids before security and causing a hold-up (27 per cent)
- 13. Not having passports or boarding passes to hand and holding up the queue (24 per cent)
- 14. Taking shoes or socks off on the plane (22 per cent)
- 15. Blocking escalators/ travellators so you can’t walk past (22 per cent)
- 16. Over-packing and holding up the queue while you sort your bags out (21 per cent)
- 17. Clapping when the plane lands (20 per cent)
- 18. Picking up the wrong luggage from the carousel (18 per cent)
- 19. Standing right next to where the luggage comes out from the carousel (15 per cent)
- 20. Queuing at the gate long before boarding starts (13 per cent)
Meanwhile, this woman was filmed giving herself a full pedicure on a flight.
And this flight attendant revealed three etiquette rules that passengers should always follow.
