Airline Etiquette: 15 Common Faux Pas Revealed in Recent Study

The rules of airline etiquette are making a comeback as the travel industry experiences a boom. A recent study, commissioned by flight comparison website Skyscanner, identified 15 common faux pas that annoy air travelers the most. Excessive drinking takes the top spot, with 48% of the 2,000 surveyed travelers expressing frustration with fellow passengers who consume too much alcohol.

Queue-cutting and reclining seats while food or drink is being served also ranked high on the list. Two-fifths of respondents considered any form of seat reclining during a flight to be a faux pas. Using gadgets without headphones and standing up immediately after the plane lands rounded off the top five most annoying habits.

Other bothersome behaviors include leaving bags on another seat, hogging both armrests, draping hair over the back of the seat, and occupying multiple seats in the departure lounges. The study highlighted the 15 most common flying faux pas as follows:

1. Drinking too much alcohol on the flight (48%)
2. Queue-cutters (43%)
3. Reclining your seat while the food and drinks are served (43%)
4. Reclining your seat back at any point during the flight (40%)
5. Using gadgets without headphones (35%)
6. Standing up as soon as the plane lands (33%)
7. Leaving bags on the seat to get comfortable when you’re trying to sit down (31%)
8. Double armrest hoggers (31%)
9. Draping hair over the back of the seat (28%)
10. Taking up multiple seats in the departure lounge (28%)
11. Not separating liquids before security and causing a hold-up (27%)
12. Not having passports or boarding passes to hand and holding up the queue (24%)
13. Taking shoes or socks off on the plane (22%)
14. Blocking escalators/travelators so you can’t walk past (22%)
15. Over-packing and holding up the queue while they sort their bags out (21%)

The study also discovered that 74% of respondents believe you should ask the person behind you before reclining your seat. Additionally, 12% of UK travelers admitted to engaging in some of these annoying behaviors themselves. Skyscanner’s travel trends expert, Laura Lindsay, recommends separating liquids before security and suggests picking up toiletries after security to save space and weight in checked bags. As an alternative, she advises using in-airport pharmacies that offer a click and collect service, such as Boots.