From hygiene to baggage, and everything in between, seasoned flight attendants have revealed what passengers should never do while travelling.
Chris Price and Isold Wilberg Antonsdóttir listed going barefoot, changing babies’ diapers in their seats, leaving trash and being disorganized with baggage as the ultimate faux-pas passengers commit.
And they urge nervous travelers to think carefully about which seats they choose -especially if they want extra leg room.
Get ready to be surprised, and perhaps a little grossed out, by the world of airborne germs and passenger pet peeves.
Two flight attendants have revealed all the things a passenger should never do while flying (pictured: Ísold Wilberg Antonsdóttir, a flight attendant with PLAY, a low-cost Icelandic airline)
Sean Price, a part-time flight attendant who has worked for a major airline in Canada for nearly 20 years and academic program manager for the Flight Services program at Seneca Polytechnic in Toronto, has dished about the do’s and don’ts of plane etiquette
Don’t go barefoot
Price, a part-time flight attendant who has worked for a major airline in Canada for nearly 20 years, said his biggest ‘don’t’ was passengers who remove their shoes and socks once in their seat.
Often travelers will then walk down the aisle and into the lavatories barefoot.
He told CTVNews: ‘Generally speaking, any substances you come in contact within that lavatory are probably undesirable, and we tend to see those same feet reappear in the cabin sometimes on arm rests, sometimes on table trays.
‘So we would not recommend wearing bare feet in the lavatory specifically because there’s lots of opportunity for cross contamination there.’
He added flight attendants don’t deep-clean the planes until they arrive at the destination.
‘You can imagine flights to maybe Vancouver to Sydney can take 16 hours,’ Price said. ‘There’s lots of opportunity for substances to build up in that lavatory and then on your foot.’
Don’t change babies at your seat
Price also recommends parents change babies’ diapers in the lavatory instead of at their seat, and to use the bags provided to dispose of the dirty diaper.
‘We have lots of baby change tables on the aircraft,’ he told CTV. ‘We can assist you in any way possible. But we would prefer that you go to the lavatory where there is a change table that’s safer for (the) baby and cleaner for anyone else who’s using that seat.’
Don’t use devices without headphones
The flight attendant added that passengers should always use headphones or headsets when using personal devices, whether to watch a show or receive text message notifications.
‘You can imagine that on a red-eye flight when … you’re trying to gain some sleep,’ he said.
‘If you’ve got 30 people watching a TV show at full volume in the cabin, it can get quite chaotic (and) disruptive.’
Price also recommends to change babies’ diapers in the lavatory instead of at your seat, and to use the bags provided to dispose of the dirty diaper
Don’t leave trash
Price also urged passengers to hand them their garbage to an attendant rather than stashing it somewhere around your seat.
Flight attendants do come around after passengers have deplaned to pick up trash to ensure the next flight is not delayed. But oftentimes the rows are riddled with ‘pretty heavy’ amounts of trash which can delay journeys.
He said: ‘The cleaner the aircraft is, the quicker we can clean it on the ground, the quicker we can get you off to the next destination.’
Don’t board unprepared
Price said it is important to be prepared. Some flights may not offer food so he recommends bringing in an empty water bottle to fill once you’re past security at the water stations inside.
He added: ‘If you bring snacks on board, it’s just better preparing you so at least you’ve got some backup in your bag.’
And cabin temperatures vary, so Price recommends dressing in layers, especially in case of emergency.
‘If we were to land in Toronto and we had an emergency and we had to evacuate the aircraft, you’re going to evacuate the aircraft wearing flip flops and shorts and a tank top and it’s negative 25 in Toronto,’ he said.
Don’t buy baggage last minute
Antonsdóttir, a flight attendant with low-cost Icelandic airline PLAY, a low-cost insisted there is an advantage to having checked bags.
‘Carry-on luggage can save time, but checked bags can be more convenient for longer trips,’ she told CTV.
Although baggage fees exist, Price said airlines may occasionally allow free check-in at the gate or during boarding if overhead bin space runs low. This is especially true for smaller airplanes with limited carry-on storage.
‘So bringing on a carry-on bag does seem to be the more economical solution. That being said, just remember that different aircraft are different sizes and this isn’t a one-size-fits-all scenario,’ he said.
Passengers on long-haul flights may find their carry-on fits the overhead bin on the main flight, but struggle on smaller connecting aircraft.
‘There tends to be a little bit of tension in the cabin when this happens,’ Price said. ‘If it doesn’t fit in the bin, trust your flight attendant.’
He also said to ere on the side of caution and bring a small carry on. He added to pay for baggage before the flight as it’s more expensive to book a checked bag at the airport than purchasing it earlier.
Price also said that passengers should always use headphones or headsets when using personal devices, whether to watch a show or receive text message notifications
Don’t sit in these seats
If you want extra leg room, Price recommends choosing your seat wisely.
‘Remember that oftentimes an emergency exit seat won’t recline because we can’t have a seat that reclines into an emergency exit because it could prevent someone from evacuating,’ he said.
He also pointed out that seats near lavatories and galleys can be noisy, and that its best to research seat options online for specific flight details.
Don’t remove seatbelt
Even though the seatbelt sign may be turned off, Price recommends always having it on throughout the flight as unexpected turbulence can bounce you around.
If anything, he said loosen the seatbelt, but ‘limit the time you’re walking around the cabin when you don’t have a seatbelt because it isn’t safe.’
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Price and Antonsdóttir emphasize that passengers shouldn’t hesitate to ask for help.
‘A flight attendant would never ignore a passenger in need of assistance,’ Antonsdóttir said.
In the event a passenger is afraid of flying or worried about departure Price said flight attendants can offer a variety of ways to ease nerves.
