Woken up by a neighbor who needs to use the restroom while you're fast asleep on a plane—would you be angry?

▲ Would you get angry if woken up while sleeping on a plane? (Illustration / Photo by reporter Lin Shiwen)

By Rita

Almost everyone has had this experience: sitting in a window seat on a long-haul flight, needing to use the restroom, only to find the two neighbors in the aisle seats sound asleep. Should you wake them up? Some choose not to and climb over them instead. But which approach is better?

British Airways conducted a survey on “what to do when you need to use the restroom on a plane.”80% of respondents said it’s acceptable to wake up your neighbor if you need to use the restroom, but 40% believe you should limit it to just once during a long-haul flight. A third said they couldn’t bear to wake their deeply sleeping neighbor and would opt to climb over them—over half of those choosing this method would face the same direction as their neighbor while doing so.


▲ Limited space on a plane calls for greater etiquette awareness. (Illustration / Photo by reporter Lin Shiwen)

Etiquette experts William Hanson and Jo Bryant believe that when climbing over, it’s best not to face your neighbor. They advise checking if there’s enough space to do so safely, and ideally, keeping your face forward and minimizing physical contact with your neighbor. If you find it difficult, then it’s better to wake them up.

The two etiquette experts suggest the best solution is to discuss with your neighbor when boarding—if you’re in a window seat—about whether they’d prefer to be woken up or climbed over when you need to use the restroom, to avoid unnecessary disturbance.