To Not understand why people get so selfish at the airport?

[virilityisbad]

I just don’t get why brits on their family
holidays get so stressy. I walk through the airport seeing them flapping about and highly strung. People are hugely territorial of their personal space. The sheer hostility towards fellow human beings in the queue for boarding.

Then on the plane, people up and down, up and down checking/fetching stuff from their baggage in the overhead lockers.

Then when landed, people in the middle
of the plane deciding they deserve to disembark first and so blocking the aisle for everyone else to get their bags.

What is it about airports that make people so selfish/stressed out

Airports are stressful, and people respond to stress in different ways. It might be annoying but reminding yourself that a great deal of their behaviour is proportionate (e.g. it is reasonable to be annoyed at being searched without evidence) might help.

The sooner you get on, the more likely it is that there will be space for your luggage in the overhead lockers. Have you never been at the back of the queue on Easyjet when they decide the last 30 or so wheelies must go in the hold?

That doesn't make it acceptable to push past people. You can pay the extra to guarantee your luggage can go in the overhead locker or just get there in plenty of time.

Agreed, people agent so aggravated at the airport, it then catches to other people. I’m sure some of it has to do with getting no sleep the night before and then having tempers frayed. Often people make a huge investment into a big holiday a year and so work themselves up / are hugely invested in it.
To be fair airports are pretty horrid places. But true you don’t get this carry on at City airport in a Tuesday morning.

I'm getting stressed reading this. Dublin airport a couple of weeks ago felt so crazy I was sure there was mad gas being pumped into the air.
We usually book flights at the, hopefully, quietest times of the day but it doesn't always work out.
As we went through duty free, a hen party went past that looked like a security detail. All dressed identically grouped round the hen who was directing operations to the nearest bar. They were terrifying.

2 women on flight that day that were just passed "merry" on the drink dial.
They were in their late 40s acting like they had never left home before and that the flight was a private charter. Sqeauling, shouting non stop from queuing to board to getting off.
On the way to arrivals, I saw them trying to get through a door for connecting flights to Australia! Insisted the man take their passports. They ended up in arrivals, totally lost having sent the people collecting them to the wrong terminal. I k ow all this because it was impossible it to hear them.

*The sooner you get on, the more likely it is that there will be space for your luggage in the overhead lockers. Have you never been at the back of the queue on Easyjet when they decide the last 30 or so wheelies must go in the hold?

That doesn't make it acceptable to push past people. You can pay the extra to guarantee your luggage can go in the overhead locker or just get there in plenty of time.*

Of course not - I'm not a heathen. I was answering the poster who seemed perplexed as to why people rush when seats are allocated.

And if everyone "gets there in plenty of time" then the back of the queue of nice and early people is still the back!

And if everyone "gets there in plenty of time" then the back of the queue of nice and early people is still the back!

Well I get there "in plenty of time" and even though some selfish tossers try to take advantage of the fact that I am disabled to push in front of me I still am not at the back.

I'm usually extremely chilled at airports.

However I could feel myself getting stressed the other week. Because if other people's behaviour.

I had checked in online. We already had allocated seat because check in due to special assistance. I downloaded boarding cards to phone. As I've never done this before I printed them out just in case.
Get to pre booked check in. Told me paper ones had printed too large (as done from phone) and I said no worries as had them on phone (which everyone else was using). Airport staff lady insisted she could print them for me and I asked why when I could use phone and it's fine. But she insisted she would and it fine and toddled off to do it.
Came back and told me I'd not typed in ds name to match his passport. I had phone boarding cards in front of me and said I said - showed her.
She the. Insisted I hadn't but she wouldn't charge me the £150 to change them this time but I may have problems on the return. I asked why when I'd be using the phone cards which say the correct name and pointed out the boarding cards purely had the short version of his name due to no space for the rest.

Eg ds name is (not real name) Matthew smithy-Bloggs. This was on phone.
Boarding card prints as smithy-bloggs/Matt.

She thought because it only printed an official short name I must have registered it as that and could not understand it was lack of space. At 5.30am after a 2.5 hour drive to have someone publically insist you are wrong and continue to reprimand you and suggest they are doing you a favour by not charging you because she can't understand her job as a goodwill gesture I'm afraid I did end up stressed.

I told her to charge me and I didn't want any favour and then provide me her full name so when I contact jet2 to complain and have refund they know who clearly had no clue. She refused to charge me to I tore up and binned her boarding cards and used the ones on my phone.

I probably looked like a right bitch - and maybe I was. But there was a statemate because she wouldn't just check us in and seemed to want to keep going on about "her favour" she was going us - which wasn't

I hate those wheeley carry on case with an absolute passion. I have no problem with people using them of it's the only luggage they're taking but why have a suitcase and a wheels carry on case? A soft bag would do and would take up a third of the space. It slows everything down so much and people become such arseholes because of them. They'd be much more chilled if they just had a handbag or small/medium backpack. I always aim to be on the plane nearly last as why would I want to be on it for longer. My backpack fits by my feet.

It's everyone the world over.

People are pretty strict about queueing, thankfully, nothing worse than standing for 20 mins so you're one of the first on for some twerp to roll up and squeeze in front. Must say Easyjet do not suffer fools gladly so this seldom happens now.
And BA have those strict lines so everyone stays in place.
Gatwick has been changed to a shopper/diners 'paradise' so if you just want a quiet spot to sit and read you won't find one.

Because we’re like that as s nation generally too and it’s gettibg worse. Mean minded, me,me,me.

It’s very apparent when you go abroad. We’ve noticed how politer and nicer other nationalities are in other countries. In airports it really smacks you in the face as you’re muddled up with several nations.

And can the British not talk quietly?

I can never understand why people are so desperate to get onto the plane first (it's not leaving until everyones onboard and seats are allocated!!) And why people are so desperate to get off first (we're all going to end up waiting at the luggage carousel anyway so why rush?!)

1. so there is space for overhead luggage

2. to avoid the hue queues at passport control if you're one of the earlier ones to disembark

Not justifying bad behaviour, just the reasons

Travelling with DC is stressful and airport procedures are really intrusive these days. Your personal belongings are x-rayed, you are often patted down, your bags may be searched and all your things muddled up and messed with. I'm a frequent flyer and I hate it, but I don't make a fuss or swear at anyone or push and shove. However, there are a lot of anxious flyers out there and when people are under stress they can behave badly, drink too much, may have self-medicated or they may be running late, delayed, etc. Not surprising really that you get incidences of air rage and bad manners.

We always just wait for the rest of the population to get out of the way and get on last/ get off last. Don't see the point in hurrying and I've never been without overhead luggage space and the plane (and everyone else) has always just left at the same time whether I'm there first or last. As for getting off, I just remain in my seat until there is space to leisurely wander off and gather the family and our bags and we still see everyone waiting at baggage for at least 15 mins before the bags start to come out. The rushing around is pathetic!!

Spent quite a bit of time in various airports the last few years and the most stressful part is toilets. Why make cubicles so tiny where it's one place where people have large bags? Fitting an adult and one child in is near on impossible. Two children us three bags... Don't even think about it. So you have to leave young children unattended. (That was when they were 2&4, not so much now they are 6&8).
Also it's less stressful if you've read the rules. Know the baggage limits. Know what you can and can't take. Have your bag organised to get your liquids and electronics out.

The queues can make things stressful as you feel time ticking away while you seem to go nowhere.

It’s not just Brits. It’s people. Air travel/airports make lots of people anxious for a variety of reasons. If you are one of the few people who doesn’t get stressed and agitated when travelling, think yourself lucky, sit back and enjoy the ride. Or is your irritation with your fellow passengers a symptom of your own anxiety?

I can never understand why people are so desperate to get onto the plane first (it's not leaving until everyones onboard and seats are allocated!!) And why people are so desperate to get off first (we're all going to end up waiting at the luggage carousel anyway so why rush?!)

If you get on later there is no space in the over heard lockers for your bags so you have to put them far away from you and that's a pain in the neck.

People travelling without hold luggage want to get off first to be first through passport control then on their way to their destination. No baggage to wait for.

Because I'm terrified of flying and I'm on edge until we land

I flew recently on an internal flight in Ecuador. They boarded the window seats first. Genius. Far less faffing about in the aisles.

See, lots of people agreeing with me as to the reasons why peolple want to board/disembark asap. Why is my post being seen as justifying pushing? Even if everyone arrives exactly 30 minutes before takeoff, someone still has to be at the back, so people hover.

No idea if it's just Brits but I hear you OP. In fact I was so fed up with plane travel last time I went away in early July that I decided not to bother going away this coming week. We'd booked this week off work but hadn't booked an actual trip. I guess it's better for the planet anyway. Have spent the money (and some) on a new(er) hybrid car instead!

Can anyone who works for an airline tell me why they don't board from the back so you don't have to queue for ages while everyone is faffing around half way down the plane?

Agree that flying from Southampton is much nicer than flying from LGW or LHR.

I'm flying out on Tuesday so thanks for the reminder to stay calm and not have to be at front of queue for everything

I think going through security can be stressful as sometimes (can never predict) the queue is huge and you can't envisage how everyone is possibly going to get through in time for you to board! Also it's a worry that they will delay you even further by wanted to search your cabin suitcase. That's if you are lucky enough to have got to the airport okay without the train breaking down or being cancelled....

I (wrongly) see the whole thing as a race!

Probably for me this is because I've had a couple of disasters previously and also witnessed others have them and it can be devastating not getting your flight.

My most recent bad experience; returning back to UK from a European city. I couldn't find departure area 'D' and seem to have circled round all the shops twice and before I knew it, I had accidentally gone out the arrivals gate and they wouldn't let me back through. I had a massive panic as I had to go and do the whole security/passport control thing again and this time the queue was massive. To make it worse my original flight had been cancelled and they had re-booked me on to this one 2 days later and thought geez i'm NEVER going to get home! Very traumatic....

Yes this! - Can anyone who works for an airline tell me why they don't board from the back so you don't have to queue for ages while everyone is faffing around half way down the plane?

We took our children abroad for the first time last year. I was really surprised at the amount of times adults tried to push past them in queues at the airport. It was quite tricky to keep them with us. I had to physically hold on to our younger dd as she is petite and a bit timid. I can't understand an adult being so desperate to gain a couple of places in a queue that they would separate a child from a parent.