As pandemic restrictions ease and airlines resume normal travel, the number of airline passengers has soared. But with more travelers clogging up airports and airplanes, the chances of encountering annoying flyers have also risen.
Airline passengers were most irritated by two types of travelers: seat kickers and drunk passengers, according to a survey by The Vacationer travel agency. The same percentage of respondents— 59.1% — chose the two behaviors as topping the list for worst airplane etiquette, according to the poll of 1,098 U.S. adults.
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Other irritating behaviors that travelers selected included: travelers who smelled due to poor hygiene or wore too much cologne or perfume (48% of respondents), inattentive parents with annoying kids (46.8%), passengers eating pungent or foul-smelling foods (39.8%), and armrest hoggers (39.1%).
Other pet peeves included talking too much (29.9%) and passengers who fully reclined their seats (38.3%), but surprisingly just 23.6% of respondents found that flyers who take off their shoes on planes (gross!) as a major irritant.
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Airline complaints have soared by a staggering 270% since before the pandemic, with consumers increasingly taking to social media to vent about issues ranging from flight delays and cancellations to lost baggage and poor customer service.
