Behaviour that annoys you at the airport

[Liverpool52]

Have taken refuge in a bar now but what behaviour annoys you at the airport?

My top 2:

People who walk passed the multiple signs at Heathrow telling them about the rules on liquids (written and pictorially) and express outrage when said liquids get confiscated or they spend ages already at the conveyor belt digging out all of their little bottles.

On the otherside of security the people who, instead of moving their tray to the little cubicles designed for the purpose, they stand at the exit to the baggage scanner putting on shoes, belts, watches etc causing a backlog through the people scanner.

Interesting, thanks, that’s complete “no no” most places- ( because simply sat on the open floor there’s nothing at all constraining the baggage), that must have been down to the airline you were with and their regulator.

I’m guessing you’ve never had a bag lost. Or had a holiday ruined when you arrived at your destination to discover that you only had the clothes you were standing up in for your two week vacation.

And no, it’s not that easy to pop into one local shop in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language / know the shops and replace the entire contents of your suitcase.

Especially if you have any specialty equipment for a diving / hiking / bird watching / photography / camping holiday.

And if the rest of your family / friends / group are all about to head off out of the city in a few hours.

And your insurers will only cover the cost of a few essential items until they are sure it’s lost / stolen and not just delayed.

Oh and did you know , they don’t cover the cost of replacing your items , just the costs of what you paid for them. So if you bought your narrow fit women’s hiking boots on sale for £100 in the Lake District 3 years ago, they will only give you that £100 minus depreciation, so perhaps £60. Which wont help if you have arrived in Iceland where you have to go to 5 shops to get narrow fitting ones and they costs £250.

Then multiply that by every item in your suitcase.

Are you taller / bigger than your average Asian person ? Oh dear, good luck finding new clothes, shoes and a new bra in many Asian counties, when you don’t know where to shop.

Even the smallest things can be a nightmare - where do you go for suncream without bleach in some countries ? Gosh the western brands are the equivalent of £20! Shame your insurers will only give you the £3 you paid Aldi.

Did I mention they won’t cover electrical items, like your laptop/ phone charger, adaptors, power bank, electric toothbrush , spare camera batteries and charger, hair styling items etc ?

And do you have proof of purchase for everything in your suitcase ? No I thought not. Tough luck then.

THATS WHY SOME PEOPLE DO CARRY ON ONLY.

Basically the same stuff that infuriates me at train stations - people bumbling along and not pre-empting the next step ie waiting until they are at the passport gates to start looking for their passport, waiting until they are at security to start thinking about getting their electronics etc out. Unless you have never flown before know you need to do all of these things so have everything ready.

I also understand the hated for trunkies, and extend that to the oblivious families that allow little ones to toddle and hold everyone up or don't keep hold of their kids in a very busy and dangerous environment (and then seem surprised when their kid gets knocked over by a trolley or suitcase or the person they've just run right in front of out of nowhere)

It's because people want overhead space for their bag near to their seat.

People who don't have the patience to accept we are in an airport, things going wrong are going to happen, the security scan is going to beep, the hand luggage is going to bump into a queue because someone is still putting their shoes on and someone is going to complain about their bottle of water, scissors or oyster fork not being allowed into the flight.

Nothing annoys more at an airport than people expecting to have a smooth ride in a place with hundreds/thousands of people moving at the same time.

Airports and flights (even more so) are scenarios where people feel a loss of control. They are suddenly subject to a lot of rules, many of which feel invasive, they have to open private bags, are told when to move, when to stay seated, when to eat, when to buckle up…it is one of the most constrained experiences most adults have these days.

The consequence of all that is high stress, and high irritability with everyone and everything around you.

i find it helps to acknowledge that, and at least understand why you are feeling so irritable/angry. Try to forgive yourself and everyone else for enduring an unpleasant experience. Other than that, find your own little routines that make a difference for you (dress comfortably, have an organised “kit bag” of earplugs, headphones, eye masks, charging cables, moisturisers, sweets, anything at all that helps to make you feel comfortable, less stressed and puts a bit of distance between you and everything around you), then just…endure. It will be over at some point!

Wow, some people get angry about things that aren’t actually happening to them right now.

I’ve really started to notice what an absolutely disgusting mess some people make of the area around their seat- you walk past some rows on the way off the plane, and it’s as if a family of rats was there for weeks rather than human beings for a few hours. I’d be seriously unhappy if that was happening right next to me.

Also, more fascinating than annoying, but I once watched a family group of about eight adults arguing with check-in staff about whether or not one of them should be allowed a litre bottle of washing up liquid in their hand luggage. Amazing.

@whatsyourpoison12 I tend to agree. But next week I’m flying with a toddler and travelling business class, preparing to get flamed. We can bag drop earlier, have priority security, so we can get to lounge at DS normal lunch time, board as we wish, slightly more space on the plane (only Club Europe), get extra hold baggage (we are not staying with family so need to take: car seat, travel cot, pushchair, backpack carrier), extra hand baggage (although we won’t use it). I know you can get a lot these things on the budget airlines and pay for what you can’t, but EasyJet was more expensive than BA when I added on all the extras and the “anytime” (from when the airport opens) bag drop makes a huge difference for this flight.

How intolerant and impatient people are of others in the airport (demonstrated by this thread)

The wisest comment so far

@Milksheikha that is my nightmare.
I was on a flight where the couple on the inside were trapped by a very very large person. The lady by the window wet herself because the person by the aisle couldn't get out. The stewards were trying to get them out but it was difficult.
The extender was at its maximum.

Now I always book aisle and middle seats.

There are two fairly specific things which piss me off when travelling by plane.

People who undo their seatbelts on landing before the seatbelt sign is off and then contort themselves like half-crouched tiger so they can be the first to leap out of their seats and grab their bags from the overhead lockers.

Fathers Parents who are used to travelling by plane but not with their offspring, who are clearly dealt with for the most part by the other parent. So they are advancing speedily through the airport at maximum efficiency while some poor woman person hoiking a baby in a sling and dragging two young children and assorted trunkies, nappy bags and pushchairs scurries along behind them, only to be barked at intermittently for being too slow. Likewise, Parent 2 breezes through security by themselves, passport and pouch of liquids at the ready, while poor Parent 1 drops the rest of the family's passports on the ground, screeches helplessly at one of the toddlers who has taken off through the security gate and has to negotiate with security over the baby milk. This continues onto the plane, where Parent 1 stows the children, the bags and the baby and starts sorting snacks and entertainment for everyone while Parent 2, sitting across the aisle, plugs in their headphones, leans their head back and closes their eyes.

Kids joyriding on Trunkïs and getting in my way.

Those self-service passport & security thingies -at Stansted.
I nearly caused a scene because it didn't understand why I was wearing glasses. I like human beings.

In the olden days having to throw away my bottle of water before security then buying another bottle of water at three times the price after.

Drunk people on planes. Or getting drunk to be fun "cos we're on our holidays".

Kids kicking the back of my chair.

Just seen all the Trunkï hate!

The panic to queue up as quickly as possible - you've got a booked, specified seat and you'll be sat squashed for hours so why would you want to be onboard first?

This is yet another consequence of the huge cabin bags. People panic because they want to make sure they get on quickly so that there's room in the overhead lockers near them (and not at the other end of the plane) or risk having their bags taken off them and put in the hold due to lack of space.

It's either the kids running wild or people who don't know what they're doing. The latter is excusable, airports aren't normal for most people and each one is different. The former is usually frazzled adults who haven't planned anything to help their kids adjust to the situation/keep them busy. We have 4 kids and they don't run around screaming, they have stuff to do!

So there's space in the overhead locker

I get speedy or priority not because it lets you on first but some airlines it includes your trolley case.

It's annoying when you're boarding the plane and there is one person FAFFING with one of their bags in the overhead lockers blocking the aisle right near the front so you and everyone else can't get past and are just waiting ages, with a queue building up. It's bloody selfish. If you need to rifle through your bag for minutes, take it down from the overhead locker, and rifle through it in your seat so that everyone else can get past you and get to their seat. THEN get up and put it in the overhead locker.

Not necessarily a people thing, but staff are people. Can I put your bag in the hold. No, it has my laptop and camera in it, can you fuck! Or wait here while I take everything out and hold it and you can put the empty bag in the hold.

That the loud family with trunkis causing a delay at security will always be going to the same hotel as you and will continue being annoying fuckers for the next 2 weeks.

That the only way to get shellfish free meals is to book the vegetarian option.

That paying for priority boarding often only means you are first on the bus from the terminal to the plane... and so last off the bus and last on the plane.

1: Tiny trays (meaning you have to take about 4)
2 taking a tray and loading your stuff into it, only for someone behind you to take a tray and push in front, then the scanner goes off for them or they have to have their bag searched.
3 not holding your OWN boarding pass and passport when traveling in a group, so the agent has to open them all one by one and ask who everyone is, holding up the queue.
Ughhh frequent flyer here. Hate stupidity.

So there's a few pp that have said that they all queue up straight away so they get room in the overhead locker. Fair enough. To be honest it's never been an issue for me. The only times that I've flown and actually needed what's in my hand luggage was when I was travelling with my DS. Other than that I usually have a decent sized handbag and I stick whatever I need in it. I tend to travel fairly light anyway.

Literally just the drinking. Recently had to be at Luton at the fucking ungodly hour of 5am for a flight. Standing in line at Pret to get a coffee and there are arseholes drinking pints of beer in the bar. Why is the bar even open at that time?

Whole families at the luggage carousel, kids sat on it. Move them out of the bloody way.

men sat with legs akimbo.

as soon as food is served the person at the window seat decides they need the loo

kids kicking seats

people who sniff constantly, blow your nose ffs.

people blocking the aisles when boarding, faffing about.

something I thought would be really annoying was when I flew without kids, was sat next to a kid. I did offer to swap with her parent, she declined. The kid then fell asleep and ended up with her head on my arm, dribbling. Her mum was mortified. I was wedged in my seat terrified of waking her, so sweet.