Most of us board a plane hoping for nothing more than a decent nap and a snack, but sometimes, you end up with front-row seats to real-life drama.
When a Reddit thread asked people to share the craziest things they’d ever witnessed on a flight, the answers came flooding in — nearly 2,000 comments in a single day.
A passenger said they found themselves in the middle of a prayer circle while a cat screamed and people puked when their plane hit turbulence. Another traveler recalled how a woman had a severe panic attack, and an on-board hypnotist stepped in to help. We have gathered the most chaotic mid-air experiences from the thread that might make you rethink your next trip — or at least appreciate a quiet flight.
So, buckle up. It is going to be a bumpy ride.
#21
Once watched a guy try to open the emergency exit because he thought it was the bathroom. Flight attendants were… not amused.
19points
To mitigate these incidents, the US launched a nationwide campaign last year urging travelers to improve their behavior at airports and on flights. The effort, called “The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You,” wants to restore civility in the skies.
The UK aviation industry brought back its prominent “One Too Many” campaign this year. It warns travelers that disruptive behavior can lead to a two-year prison sentence, a £5,000 fine for delaying a flight, or an £80,000 penalty to cover the massive costs if a plane is forced to divert.
Many other countries have also implemented similar severe penalties. These include lifetime travel bans for passengers who cause a flight cancellation, as well as the right to deny boarding to anyone deemed unfit to fly.
#22
The lady I was sitting beside stood up during boarding and yelled at another passenger for their crying baby.
It was a 3am flight and this babies screaming was going on for long enough for the lady sitting beside me to stand up, turn around and yell
“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOUR CHILD? HONESTLY, IF YOU CAN’T CONTROL YOUR FREAKING KID, DON’T BRING IT ON A PLANE AT 3 IN THE FREAKING MORNING”
Then the baby shortly after stopped crying and I fell asleep.
It was a 3am flight and this babies screaming was going on for long enough for the lady sitting beside me to stand up, turn around and yell
“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOUR CHILD? HONESTLY, IF YOU CAN’T CONTROL YOUR FREAKING KID, DON’T BRING IT ON A PLANE AT 3 IN THE FREAKING MORNING”
Then the baby shortly after stopped crying and I fell asleep.
18points
#23
Going home after a trip for work. Some lady started arguing with her partner two rows in front of me. Just a regular couple fighting abut some stuff or another.
She gets up, goes to the flight attendant and asks to be switched to a different seat. The FA says it's a full flight and she will see if someone will want to switch once everyone has boarded.
The lady becomes a goblin a says "I don't want to sit next to him anymore. He has a b*mb". Loud and very clear for everyone to hear.
The FA's eyes almost jump out of their sockets. She says "wait here" and goes to the front. We all had to deplane. People from about three rows front and back had to be interviewed. The lady got arrested. The pilots timed out and the flight was cancelled.
She gets up, goes to the flight attendant and asks to be switched to a different seat. The FA says it's a full flight and she will see if someone will want to switch once everyone has boarded.
The lady becomes a goblin a says "I don't want to sit next to him anymore. He has a b*mb". Loud and very clear for everyone to hear.
The FA's eyes almost jump out of their sockets. She says "wait here" and goes to the front. We all had to deplane. People from about three rows front and back had to be interviewed. The lady got arrested. The pilots timed out and the flight was cancelled.
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18points
Air travel isn’t always glamorous. When you are trapped in a flying pressure cooker, a little basic empathy becomes all the more important.
Delays, cramped spaces, and minor inconveniences are practically built into the itinerary. Mentally prepping for those headaches is the easiest way to keep your own frustration from boiling over.
#24
A guy ate a giant plate of baby back ribs. The guy brought a bib and used rubber gloves to keep his hands from getting too messy. It was coach and he had the middle seat. The ribs smelled great and the whole plane smelled like bbq pretty quickly. It took him a long time to lick every bone clean. I kept checking on him because I had a clear view of it and I was jealous.
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16points
#25
Internal flight in the US. Guy two rows behind got upset about something minor. Got verbally aggressive with the women sat in his and the row in front. Flight attendant asked if he was making them uncomfortable, and they said yes. Thirty seconds later she reappeared with a security guy behind her. He stood up, grabbed his bag and walked off the plane, no argument. Complete waste of his time.
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15points
#26
New York to Paris - about an hour in the flight, the first officer leaves the flight deck to go to the washroom, and collapses, landing hard, lying motionless in the forward galley.
Eventually cabin crew get him back up and he's responsive, and is made to sit down in the business class seat next to us.
He proceeds to spend the entire flight reclined, watching movies.
Apparently he had some form of medical emergency, fainted, recovered, and ended up just chilling out for the rest of the flight while a relief FO from one of the jump seats jumped into the flight deck in relief.
Eventually cabin crew get him back up and he's responsive, and is made to sit down in the business class seat next to us.
He proceeds to spend the entire flight reclined, watching movies.
Apparently he had some form of medical emergency, fainted, recovered, and ended up just chilling out for the rest of the flight while a relief FO from one of the jump seats jumped into the flight deck in relief.
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15points
#27
Shared a crowded night flight over Texas with a college rugby team. They boarded full of booze and were determined to keep their sport going at altitude. So the team captain hauls out a ball and they start bouncing in all around the cabin and cheering one another on.
I was sitting across the aisle from the main instigator and wondering where this was going to lead.
Pretty soon a flight attendant walked up and whispered something in his ear about federal agents being alerted and waiting for them at landing. Things immediately got quiet.
I was sitting across the aisle from the main instigator and wondering where this was going to lead.
Pretty soon a flight attendant walked up and whispered something in his ear about federal agents being alerted and waiting for them at landing. Things immediately got quiet.
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15points
#28
True story , thankfully I don’t have an answer to this question because I took the day off work on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I was scheduled to be on American Airlines flight 11. I took off work because I had just bought madden NFL 2002 on ps2.
14points
#29
Lady that was in the seat next to my gf and I started cutting up all the in flight magazines and safety guides into confetti with giant scissors, flight attendants were like no, you can't have those, she seemed to not even respond to them, somehow they finally got her to give them up. Then she started shredding paper with her hands and just tossing it in the aisle.
There happened to be a psychiatrist of some sort on board, they switched our seats with them and offered us some free food and drinks. We were in a different section so didn't see what happened after that. When we got off at the destination cops were talking with the lady though.
There happened to be a psychiatrist of some sort on board, they switched our seats with them and offered us some free food and drinks. We were in a different section so didn't see what happened after that. When we got off at the destination cops were talking with the lady though.
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14points
#30
I had one lady freak out when they announced where the plane was going...
"I'm not supposed to go to Los Angeles!!"
Turns out her boarding pass was for a completely different flight. How she got on the wrong plane I have no idea.
Another one, the plane starts to move away from the skyway, and she starts losing her mind, "I can't fly! I can't fly!" At full volume over and over. The sheriff's dept came and removed her.
"I'm not supposed to go to Los Angeles!!"
Turns out her boarding pass was for a completely different flight. How she got on the wrong plane I have no idea.
Another one, the plane starts to move away from the skyway, and she starts losing her mind, "I can't fly! I can't fly!" At full volume over and over. The sheriff's dept came and removed her.
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14points
#32
Opened a crate of chickens that were in the aisle. Remote Nepal back in the 1980s. No idea of they got all the chickens back.
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13points
#33
On a flight from LAX to Sydney, a man next to me watched the Nicolas Cage film 'Bangkok Dangerous' three times in a row. This was not a case of the film restarting on a screen after finishing automatically, it was on a laptop and he had to re-start it each time.
I avoided speaking to this clearly deranged man for the entirety of the 14 hour flight.
I avoided speaking to this clearly deranged man for the entirety of the 14 hour flight.
13points
#34
Asian dude kept clearing his throat and spitting on the isle.
13points
#36
Guy has to pee as the plane was about to take off. You could tell he never flew before. He was in the middle seat. His gf was in the isle. He said to me you think they'll be mad at me if I get up to go to the bathroom. I said they won't take off if anyone's standing up. We were literally on the run way driving. So the gf helps cover the guy up and he peed in a bottle while we were taking off. Weird af. I'm a cool guy so whatever I just looked the other way. But weird af.
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12points
#37
Sleep through insane turbulence with free fall drops over the Caribbean. This ladies drink was spilling and sliding from one side of the tray to the other. People screaming and crying. Pilot telling us all to stay calm. I was horrified it was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced. When we started to land in San Juan, she woke up. Then told my friend and I she has been on thousands of flights and had never experienced turbulence that bad. So glad she didn’t wake up and tell me that while we were still up high. Freaking crazy. Then the next plane we got on had like 20 seats and propellers with a pilot who might’ve been 25 years old. That flight was way more chill.
11points
#38
Bro drank like a full bottle of whisky he bought in duty free. Proceeded to harass two 15 year-old girls sitting next to him until we intervened and asked the flight attendants to move them to another seat (which they did). After that, bro proceeded to light a cig in the bathroom and gets arrested at landing. Legend.
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11points
#39
I sat next to a young teen that kept requesting drinks with cups of ice and never touched them. He had a tray full of untouched drinks and cups and whined when they made him toss them to put his tray up before landing.
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11points
#40
A woman who was clearly drunk sat next to me. She kept asking for wine and the flight attendants kept serving her.
About 20 minutes into the flight, she asked me if we had taken off yet. Then she took out a bottle of nail polish and started to do her nails while people all around us craned their necks to see where the fumes were coming from. The plane was packed, so I couldn't ask for a different seat.
About 10 minutes before we landed, she took out her cell phone and called some guy. It was on speakerphone, so everybody heard both sides of the conversation. She asked him if he was picking her up at the airport (yes) and if they'd be sleeping together (no).
While we were waiting for our bags at the carousel, everybody who had heard that unfortunate exchange was staring with great interest when the guy came to meet her.
About 20 minutes into the flight, she asked me if we had taken off yet. Then she took out a bottle of nail polish and started to do her nails while people all around us craned their necks to see where the fumes were coming from. The plane was packed, so I couldn't ask for a different seat.
About 10 minutes before we landed, she took out her cell phone and called some guy. It was on speakerphone, so everybody heard both sides of the conversation. She asked him if he was picking her up at the airport (yes) and if they'd be sleeping together (no).
While we were waiting for our bags at the carousel, everybody who had heard that unfortunate exchange was staring with great interest when the guy came to meet her.
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10points