Your flight crew has seen it all, especially the things they wish they hadn’t.
Flight attendants are trained professionals whose primary job is to keep you safe at 35,000 feet, but they also double as servers, medics, and peacekeepers. They perform their duties with a smile while navigating a pressurized cabin full of hundreds of people. While most passengers are courteous and respectful, a few common behaviors can make a tough job even harder.
These aren’t just minor pet peeves; some actions can create delays, compromise safety, or are just plain gross. Knowing what not to do is one of the easiest ways to show your appreciation and help make the flight smoother for everyone on board.
1. They completely ignore the safety demonstration.
You may have seen it a hundred times, but the safety briefing is not optional background entertainment. For flight attendants, watching a cabin full of people with headphones on or engrossed in their phones while they demonstrate how to use an oxygen mask is incredibly frustrating. Their primary responsibility is passenger safety, and this demonstration contains critical information that could save your life in an emergency.
Ignoring it is not only disrespectful to the crew but also foolish. Every aircraft model is slightly different, and knowing the location of the nearest exit and how to operate the equipment is vital, according to Real Simple. Taking just a few minutes to pay attention shows the crew you take your safety, and their job, seriously. It’s the simplest form of respect you can offer.
2. You try to hand them your trash at the wrong time.
There is a time and a place for everything, and the middle of beverage service is not the time to hand a flight attendant your dirty napkin or empty food wrapper. When the crew is navigating a heavy, precarious cart down a narrow aisle, their hands are full serving drinks and snacks. Thrusting your garbage at them at this moment is awkward and unsanitary.
Flight attendants will always come through the cabin specifically to collect trash, usually after a meal or beverage service is complete. Just hold onto your items for a few more minutes until the designated collection time, as mentioned in Travel + Leisure. It helps keep the service efficient and prevents them from having to juggle your garbage along with the items they are trying to serve to other passengers.
3. They get poked or grabbed to get attention.
Imagine a server at a restaurant being poked in the ribs by a customer every time they needed a refill. You would never do it on the ground, so it’s baffling why some passengers think it’s acceptable in the air. Flight attendants are constantly moving through the cabin, and a sudden poke, tap, or even a tug on their uniform is both startling and incredibly disrespectful.
This is a human being, not an interactive display. If you need something, the proper way to get their attention is to make eye contact, offer a polite “excuse me” as they pass, or use the call button for non-urgent matters when they are not in the aisle, as reported on Newsweek. Treating the crew with basic personal space and courtesy goes a very long way.
4. People decide the galley is their personal yoga studio.
The galley is a flight attendant’s office. It’s a cramped, busy, and often hazardous space filled with hot beverage carts, service items, and crew members trying to work efficiently. It is absolutely not an appropriate place for you to perform your morning stretches, do a few yoga poses, or have a loud, extended conversation with your travel buddy.
When passengers congregate in the galley, they get in the way of the crew’s ability to prepare for service, take a short break, or handle in-flight logistics. A quick stretch near your seat is one thing, but treating their workspace as a passenger lounge area is a major overstep. Respect their office, and you’ll get much better service.
5. You ask “what are my drink options” when the menu is right there.
On most airlines, a menu detailing the available drinks and snacks is conveniently located in the seatback pocket right in front of you. Asking a flight attendant to recite the entire list of options, especially on a full flight, holds up the service for everyone else behind you. It signals that you haven’t bothered to take even a moment to look for the information yourself.
Taking a quick glance at the menu before the cart arrives is a small courtesy that makes the process much smoother and faster. The crew has hundreds of passengers to serve, and knowing what you want ahead of time is a simple way to be a considerate traveler. It helps them keep the cart moving so everyone can get their refreshments promptly.
6. They leave the lavatory in a disgusting state.
Airplane lavatories are small, shared spaces that see a lot of traffic. Leaving one in a mess is one of the most inconsiderate things a passenger can do. Flight attendants are not janitors, but they often have to go in and clean up after passengers who have left soiled tissues on the floor, splashed water all over the counter, or missed their mark, to put it politely.
Common decency dictates that you leave the space in a respectable condition for the next person. Use the provided trash bin, wipe down the sink area if you make a mess, and just be mindful that you are not the only person who needs to use that facility. It’s a matter of basic hygiene and respect for your fellow travelers and the crew.
7. You argue about putting your phone on airplane mode.
The rules requiring electronic devices to be switched to airplane mode during takeoff and landing are not arbitrary suggestions made up by the airlines. They are federal regulations mandated for safety reasons, designed to prevent any potential interference with the aircraft’s sensitive navigational and communication systems. Arguing with a flight attendant about this is pointless and delays the flight.
When a crew member asks you to switch your phone to airplane mode, they are doing their job to ensure regulatory compliance and the safety of everyone on board. Defying this instruction is a federal offense. Simply comply quickly and without complaint; the text or email can wait a few more minutes.
8. People try to force their oversized bag into the overhead bin.
Overhead bin space is one of the most precious resources on a full flight. We’ve all seen the passenger who struggles for five minutes to violently shove a clearly oversized carry-on bag into a bin that is already full. This behavior holds up the entire boarding process, creating a traffic jam in the aisle and frustrating everyone waiting behind them.
Listen to the gate agents when they say a bag is too large and needs to be checked. Trying to sneak it on board only to find it doesn’t fit is a waste of everyone’s time. It often forces flight attendants to then check the bag planeside, causing further delays. Be realistic about your bag’s size and help make boarding a smoother experience.
9. They take off their shoes and put their bare feet everywhere.
An airplane is a public mode of transportation, not your personal living room. Removing your shoes is one thing, but taking off your socks and propping your bare feet up on the bulkhead wall, the armrest of the seat in front of you, or into the aisle is universally offensive. It’s a major breach of etiquette and basic hygiene that makes everyone around you uncomfortable.
No one wants to see, or smell, your bare feet in a confined space for hours. It’s disrespectful to your fellow passengers and creates an unpleasant environment for the crew who has to walk past them. Please, for the sake of everyone on board, keep your feet on the floor and your socks on.
10. They abuse the call button for trivial requests.
The flight attendant call button is a tool for assistance, not a personal butler service summoner. While it’s perfectly acceptable to use it if you need medical help or have an urgent issue, pressing it for trivial matters is a major source of annoyance for the crew. Ringing it to ask for a pillow while the seatbelt sign is on or to request a drink refill moments after a full beverage service has just concluded is poor form.
Before you press that button, ask yourself if your request can wait until a crew member is already in the aisle. Abusing the call button can also distract the crew from paying attention to more serious issues or safety-related duties. Use it wisely and sparingly.