CNN Ranks the 12 Worst Behaviors on a Plane — Kicking the Back of Seats Is Annoying

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Having just entered 2014, students have just gone through intense final exams, and office workers have been diligently working hard for their careers. Now, the Lunar New Year holiday is also about to arrive. In addition to returning home for family gatherings, many may also use this time to plan an overseas trip to relax and recharge. But just as you start to imagine a wonderful journey, some annoying situations might shatter your beautiful fantasy during the flight.

CNN(CNN) Previously, under the theme "What's the most annoying thing someone can do on a plane?", the site asked netizens to share their most disliked behaviors or experiences. From over 1,900 responses, they selected the 12 most commonly cited issues. Here, we introduce just five of them—see if you also find these behaviors annoying?

▲ When you're trying to rest, hearing annoying “percussion” from behind—you’d probably want to cover your ears, right? (Image/ Illustration / Dagui Images)

Using the tray table as a percussion instrument

Netizen Jan Bowlin shared a rather upsetting experience. During a flight, the passenger behind him pulled down the tray table and began his own “percussion show.” When he turned around to ask what the passenger was doing, the reply was: “I’m not doing anything.” Left speechless.

Drunk passengers and drunken outbursts

Since alcohol is free on planes, some passengers treat the aircraft as a free bar and start “drinking without limits.” “Even worse, if the passenger next to you is one of those, you’ll have to endure them possibly ringing the service bell every minute for drinks or other things!” a netizen using the handle “Visitor” wrote helplessly.

Another netizen recalled an unpleasant flight experience where a drunk passenger started shouting and even had a drunken outburst, attempting to pick a fight with other passengers on the plane.

Changing diapers in the seat

When traveling, you inevitably encounter other families on vacation, but witnessing the following scenario might make you wish you hadn’t: “I once saw a mom changing her child’s diaper right on the tray table, then stuffing the dirty diaper into the pocket in front of the seat beside her—completely disregarding others. How disgusting!”

After netizen rdrago43 shared his personal experience, others said they’d seen similar situations, and even worse, many had unknowingly used the seatback pocket afterward.

▲ You’re wearing earplugs, yet someone keeps chattering nonstop next to you. It’s unlikely, but you’d probably want to change seats... (Image/ Illustration / Dagui Images)

Passengers who won’t stop talking

Traveling alone sometimes makes you wish someone would chat with you, but nonstop chatter can be really annoying. “Even when I’m wearing earplugs and an eye mask, clearly signaling ‘please shut up,’ some people just don’t get it and keep talking nonstop—and you can’t even understand what they’re trying to say.”

Another netizen said helplessly, “There are always those people who want to tell you all about their kids or complain, but just don’t know when to stop talking.”

▲ You’re sitting peacefully on the plane when suddenly the chair jerks violently back and forth—wouldn’t that make you angry? (Image/ Screenshot from CNN)

Kicking the back of the seat

Imagine trying to rest with your eyes closed, only to feel the seatback suddenly lean back and then snap forward—it feels awful, yet it’s one of the most common things people encounter on planes.

Netizen Jim Plourde said that during a long-haul overnight flight, a passenger kept using “every” seat he passed in the aisle as a handhold, causing each seat to jerk forward abruptly and waking up a quarter of the cabin. “If you can’t walk steadily on a plane, please use the overhead bin to balance yourself!”

Other annoying behaviors include singing on the plane, applying strongly scented perfume, asking overly personal or religious questions, and applauding upon landing. The bottom line is, when traveling, it’s not just about having fun yourself—you should also be considerate of others.

CNN Netizens Vote on the “12 Worst Behaviors on a Plane”

1. Kicking the back of the seat

2. Applying strongly scented perfume

3. Nonstop chattering to fellow passengers during the flight

4. Asking overly personal or religious questions

5. Changing diapers

6. Drunk passengers and drunken outbursts

7. Clapping upon landing

8. Ignoring the flight attendants’ instructions

9. Painting your nails on the plane

10. Singing loudly

11. Continuously tapping on the back of the seat

12. Using the in-flight tray table as an instrument for your personal percussion show