Last week an easyJet flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a fight broke out — and the cause of the disagreement has enraged travellers.
Two families came to blows over a five-year-old boy watching The Karate Kid film too loudly on his iPad.
A woman sitting four rows in front allegedly shouted ‘racial abuse’ when asking the boy to turn the film off, according to his mother.
She added that her son ‘was left extremely scared and distressed’.
Metro readers have shared their views on the incident, with many believing it could have been avoided if the boy was wearing headphones.
Alison Lewis said: ‘[The] Son should have been using earphones. It’s inconsiderate to those around you not to.’
Carol Gillard echoed: ‘The child should have been wearing headphones if he was watching a film,’ and Mark Doughty agreed: ‘How about have some respect for everybody else on the flight and have your kid use headphones?’
Sabree Bee shared: ‘One of my pet hates is when people watch stuff or play noisy, bleepy games on devices in public spaces such as buses, trains, planes etc, without wearing headphones. It really irritates me.’
Even those who were keen to remain impartial took issue with the lack of headphones.
Rachel England commented: ‘Not condoning the escalation to violence but for God’s sake. Use headphones in public spaces.’
And Steve Picco added: ‘Not taking sides, but if someone four rows away could even hear it (let alone be annoyed by it), it was clearly much too loud!’
It’s not just Metro readers who have been left irritated by the issue — the subject has been a hot topic on Reddit recently too.
In the subreddit r/unitedairlines, travellers have shared their experiences of fellow United passengers playing music or watching videos out loud.
One user said: ‘Last night, we arrived at our gate early and had to wait about five minutes for the other plane to back out. Some idiot ahead of me started playing an obnoxious game with the sound on. After listening to it for a bit, I announced, “Would you please use your headphones?” I got a few laughs, a couple people clapped, but the sound kept going.’
Another added: ‘I was in airports and subways in Malaysia and Singapore and Istanbul recently. About 20% of people have now decided games, TikTok, and FaceTime conversations are best done without headphones’.
What to do if you’re sat near someone who isn’t using headphones
Metro spoke to Jay Robert, a senior cabin crew member for a major European airline, to find out what plane passengers can do in this situation.
He said: ‘If you find yourself seated next to someone disrupting the cabin with their device, politely ask if they would mind using headphones. However, if you feel uncomfortable doing so or the person refuses, get the crew involved immediately. Acting under the Captain’s authority, cabin crew are empowered to enforce rules that maintain cabin comfort and safety.’
He added: ‘Under no circumstances should you escalate the situation to violence, as this could result in an expensive flight diversion, one you may be held financially responsible for. This is also why I personally invest in noise-cancelling headphones or carry earplugs; they help block out everything from snoring seatmates to engine noise.’
Meanwhile, etiquette expert Jo Hayes, founder of EtiquetteExpert.org, offered advice on how to approach a headphone-less passenger.
She explained: ‘For those who need to approach a fellow passenger about turning their audio off loudspeaker (not just down, but off), the MO is: Kind, calm, clear.’
Hayes suggested phrasing the request: ‘Hi there, would you be so kind as to listen to your audio with headphones? It’s distracting for others around you.’
If this doesn’t work, she agrees that the next step is to call a flight attendant.
Hayes added: ‘Adults travelling with children have a responsibility to ensure their children have appropriate headphones for air travel entertainment.’
And Roberts agrees, telling Metro: ‘Passengers must remember that they are in a shared space and should follow basic rules and guidelines to ensure everyone’s comfort. Parents, in particular, should teach their children proper social etiquette when travelling on shared transport, not encourage and defend the act.’
What would you do in this situation?
-
Politely ask the passenger to put headphones in
-
Call over a flight attendant immediately
-
Ignore it
Other pesky plane habits
Using a phone without headphones isn’t the only in-flight behaviour that gets under passengers’ skin.
Flight attendant Cher Killough recently revealed the three plane habits she thinks should be ‘illegal’.
Manspreading, which is where people (usually men) sit with their knees so far apart they take up more space than their seat allows, came up first. Cher said of the habit: ‘It’s just unacceptable.’
The second was wearing strong perfume. ‘It’s already an environment where people are prone to getting nauseous, so having an extra fragrance on top of that is just not a good mix,’ the flight attendant said.
And, finally, Cher believes there’s ‘not a time that it’s acceptable to have your bare toes out in the cabin,’ and that sandal-wearers ‘seriously deserve to go to jail’.
It’s a habit so frustrating, in fact, that airlines have taken to making announcements to tackle it.
One Reddit user revealed: ‘On my recent flight the flight attendant made an announcement during boarding about using headphones. Hopefully they enforce it.’
Roberts is supportive of this approach, telling Metro: ‘Airlines need to set clear noise guidelines in their terms and conditions.
‘The major US airlines have started doing this, with American Airlines being the latest to adopt and enforce a ‘Quiet Cabin Policy’ to improve passenger experiences and give their crew more authority to end cabin noise.’
This isn’t the first time travellers have taken to social media to lament the behaviour of their fellow passengers.
People who stand up to queue down the plane as soon as it lands have recently been dubbed ‘aisle lice’ by Reddit users frustrated with the behaviour.
It’s a subject that’s divided travellers, with some considering it bad plane etiquette and others defending the desire to stand up after a long time sitting in a plane seat.
Similarly, ‘gate lice’ is the secret name airline workers have given to passengers who queue up the minute the gate opens at the airport.
If all this has you worried about the nuances of in-flight etiquette, Metro spoke to the experts to find out the seven things you should never do on a plane — make sure to give it a read before your next trip.
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
