Most flights are boring at best. If all you have to endure is cramped space, bad food, tedious in-flight movies, and the odd stretch of turbulence, you should really count yourself lucky. But even at that, most of us are just counting down the minutes until we can land and get on with our hard-earned vacations.
But being bored is hardly the worst thing that can happen to you at 30,000 feet. Whether it be stinky seat mates, crying babies, lost luggage, or flights that don't even get off the runway, all the folks below had a bad time compliments of the airlines, and they've gone online to let off some steam.
Here are the airplane debacles that almost made these otherwise well-behaved passengers snap.
Photo by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi from Pexels
25. Stop The Presses!
24. Asserting Food Dominance
23. Ups And Downs
22. Surprise Layover
21. Runway Or Treadmill?
20. Brace For Impact
19. Who Dealt It
18. Unhappy Cramper
17. Give Me Your Seat, Or Else...
A few years ago, I was asked to fly to Sydney, Australia at the last minute. I did the best I could to buy a seat that fit my preferences (aisle, middle row, not too far from the front, not in front of a bathroom) and managed to get to my seat in time for boarding.
Just as the cabin crew was finishing the headcount, a young woman next to me asked me to move to another seat so that her husband could come and sit with her. While I normally would do my best to help, this particular request was difficult for me to say yes to because her husband’s seat met all the requirements of the seat I would never buy: window seat, in the aft, near to the bathroom.
When I told her as politely as I could that I was sorry but I would like to stay in my seat, she became rather nasty and loud, and started saying things like I was being ‘inconsiderate’, ‘rigid’, ‘unbending’ and ‘unhelpful’. When I asked her what made them buy seats that were separated from one another, she called me a b*tch for asking a rude question! I almost lost it because I did not want to be on that 8-hour flight in the first place -- I had to reschedule my week in order to make that meeting. I could feel my temperature rise because my face felt warm. Yeah, I really don’t like people shouting at me, but I did not want to take that other seat, as much as I don’t mind helping.
I took a deep breath, counted to 5, and told her that I was close to losing my temper and if she would not stop shouting at me I would report her to the cabin crew for being a disruptive passenger. At this point people around us were also paying attention to our little tiff.
When a cabin crew member came over to ask her husband to return to his original seat, the woman started shouting to the cabin crew to offload me because I did not want to help her. The stewardess then apologized to her (much to my initial shock, to be honest) before asking me to follow her to the business class.
She helped me with my carry-on luggage and, in full hearing of everyone, said that she was sure she can justify a complimentary seat upgrade for me after going through that disruptive experience.
As we walked along the aisle I overheard a man say to the couple “Now that you’re sitting together, please be quiet and don’t disturb us again.” I could only count my blessings that I kept my cool even though I almost lost it more than once!
Photo by Rui Chaves from Pexels
16. He Touched It
15. Gas Attack
14. The Customer Is Always Wrong
I was taking a flight from Toronto to Vancouver, and there was a connecting flight to Maui two hours after I was to arrive in Vancouver. Due to mechanical problems the flight was late taking off from Toronto.
While in flight, I realized we were not making up enough time for me to get my connection flight. The problem with not getting the connection was that the next flight out of Vancouver to Maui was three days out.
I asked the flight attendant what I could do and if they would delay the flight. She told me in a curt tone that if I had properly booked my flights I would have left more time for the connecting flight.
I informed her that I had purchased a vacation package from the airline and I had no choice on the connecting flight as it was prearranged by the airline in the vacation package.
She told me not to get “snippy” with her or she would make sure I would never get the connecting flight.
I held myself back from a retort, as I knew she had all the power at that moment - but did I fume for days over this. Her airline, their prearranged vacation package, and yet it was my fault…really!?
Luckily, as it turned out there were 16 of us on the plane in the same situation and they delayed the connecting flight.

13. This Is Truly A Nightmare
I had a colostomy bag for about 6 months to let my colon heal after an accident where it was perforated. (I fell and was impaled on a barbed wire fencepost.) On the plane, I was coming off painkillers so I had really bad gastrointestinal issues. And it turned out my colostomy bag was not attached correctly.
I was dozing off when I felt warmth and that horrible human waste smell. My colostomy bag leaked copious amounts of liquid all over the front of me. It stunk up the cabin badly - I had to go into the bathroom and try to get it off of my dress shirt and slacks. I stayed in there as long as I could, but I still came out soaking wet and about as embarrassed as I've ever been.
12. The Cherry On Top
11. This Happens Waaaaaay Too Often
10. So You're Just Not Going To Parent?
9. In The Pocket
I'm a former flight attendant. Only once, to my recollection, did I raise my voice in anger to a passenger.
I was working the beverage cart making my way through the cabin and serving each row. Atop the cart was a stack of beverage napkins but I also kept extra napkins, for possible spills, tucked into the pockets of my service apron. The apron pockets were wide and deeply angled in a way that overlay much of the groin surface.
I'm serving the passengers on my left when suddenly I feel a hand shoved deeply into my right side pocket, groping around directly over the area of my privates.
I was so startled and offended that I reflexively shouted, "Stop! What the heck do you think you’re doing?!" The tone and timbre of my voice surprised even me.
The woman to my right who had reached so deeply into my pocket turned red as a beet at my scolding, and said she was trying to get a napkin.
I just said: "Ma'am, please, if you want something -- ask!”
The woman probably wasn't even thinking when she reached deep into my pocket, but I certainly felt violated, and that was the only time I really ‘lost it’.
8. Chickens Screwed You Over Twice
7. Murphy's Law In Practice
This was a school trip, so we had close to 30 teenagers present. We were heading to DC from the west coast, with a layover in Chicago. Because of the large class size, we had to arrive at the airport around 5 AM so we could get through security.
We made it to the gate area by 6 AM, and our flight was boarding at 7:30. However, they pushed the flight back 30 minutes ... then 30 more minutes ... then an hour ... then another hour, until four hours had passed. Because they kept changing the time, we had to stay in the gate area in case of a sudden announcement.
My teacher spent almost $200 that day just to buy us lunch because we were planning to have an airline meal. We finally took off around 12:30 PM
When we land in Chicago, it's 5:30 PM with time zones adjusted. We're a hoard of zombies by this point, since we had almost no sleep the night before due to excitement. We've missed our original connection by hours, and any other flights to DC that day are full, so we're booked onto a flight to Baltimore instead - which also gets delayed an hour. Once again, my teacher saves the day by buying us pizza for dinner - and my teacher is the type that buys gourmet pizza at a time like this, so she spent even more of her money like that.
We take off at 8:30 PM from Chicago. Everyone wants to sleep, but my teacher won't allow it because if we sleep, we'll be even more tired once we're woken up. With time zones adjusted, it's 11:30 PM when landing in Baltimore.
Guess what - because of all the delays and airport switching, our luggage is lost. But the airline just tells us to keep waiting at the baggage claim - until it's almost 1 AM. Don' forget, this is a group of 30 sweaty teenagers who can't change their clothes.
So after a 40-minute bus drive to DC - still no dozing off allowed - we locate our luggage, and get it. It's almost 2:30 AM when we finally got sent to bed -- and we have to wake up in 6 more hours for our first day exploring DC.
In all seriousness though, that was easily the most fun day of the trip. While stranded at the first airport, my teacher talked to a lady at the gate who was a professional artist. After chatting a bit, my teacher arranged for my artist friend to show the lady some of her drawings, and she got some pointers on how to improve. My teacher also organized a drawing contest with a few students, while another group used a blank notebook to create a full role play game that lasted all 4 hours. One student who brought a book was reading out loud to not just our classmates, but to some of the other passengers as well. While waiting at the Chicago airport, one talented boy pulled out a Rubik's cube and showed his skills for the entire gate area.
It sounds horrible when I lay it all out there, but I think it was actually my best experience on an airplane.
Photo by Anugrah Lohiya from Pexels
6. Rocky Road
5. Not Even In Coach, Dude
I was once on an airplane sitting in first class. There was a man sitting in my row who was clipping his freaking toenails and they were FLYING in all sorts of directions. He then proceeded to take that long metal thing on toenail clippers, clean out his toe jam, and wipe it all over his seat.


