Plane And Simple: 40+ Uncivilized Passengers That Make Us Want To Travel By Car

The nightmare just never ends. No matter how many posts we’ve seen online of people behaving poorly during flights or at airports, there will always be more! It baffles us to see just how many people out there are entirely uncultured. But alas, these posts do make for entertainment, even if you’re just hate-scrolling through. Dutifully, @passengershaming on Instagram exposes the dirty deeds of some of these people for the world to see. Be wary of these kinds of travelers the next time you’re about to board a plane, bus, or train. Unfortunately, you may be stuck next to the next bout of nightmare passengers. Hopefully, some of the pictures on this list could give you a fair warning on how to deal with bad passengers if you come across any.

All photos courtesy of Instagram/@passengershaming

Suffering the consequences

Altercations onboard flights, trains, and buses are not uncommon. While usually resolvable, they do tend to create tension in the vehicle for the rest of the passengers. Especially on a plane; you can’t just kick someone out for bad behavior.

The flight attendants on this plane did the only thing they could. As much as they would have liked to throw this disrespectful man out of the aircraft, they taped him to his seat instead, to ensure he wouldn’t harm anyone else.

Stretching it out

Being considerate should be standard for everyone that gets on a plane. This means valuing other people and making you think twice before doing something that may seem like a good idea but just makes others miserable. What benefits you doesn’t benefit your neighbors.

The person sitting behind this woman is definitely not considerate. Look, we get that long flights can make our legs cramp up. But there are other ways to stretch than putting your feet directly above someone’s head! What a jerk.

Where to put your hair

If you have long hair, it’s only natural to want to keep it out of your face during long flights. The proper way to deal with it is to put your hair up in a messy bun and call it a day. This person clearly didn’t get the memo…

While this person’s hair isn’t covering too much of the screen, it can still get annoying. This passenger was clearly tempted to solve the problem with violence. But the real question here is, how did they get away with bringing scissors on a flight?

Rehearsals

In-flight entertainment is usually restricted to the screens in front of you, or in front of the cabin for smaller planes. Well, this flight got live-action entertainment when this couple started doing choreography in the aisle. Sure it’s impressive, but it’s a bit disruptive, too.

Unless this happened while the plane was still on the ground and not moving, we don’t understand how this is safe. What happened to staying buckled at all times? Hopefully, there was no turbulence and their routine finished with no mishaps.

Maximum safety

Guess this is what traveling in post-pandemic times looks like. Some people wear a mask on flights. Some people double mask for extra safety. Others wear a full-on gas helmet, goggles, and gloves for maximum safety. Not an inch of them is exposed.

Seeing how every inch of this person’s body is covered up, they might as well be wearing full PPE gear on this plane. We can’t argue that it isn’t the safest way to travel. That, and load up on tons of hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and wipes in your carry-on.

Body scan

Airports can be a daunting place, even if you’re a frequent flyer. Imagine how confusing and stressful it would be for a first-time flyer. Thorough security, nervous passengers worried about safety leave us in a state of urgency and unease; it’s not for everyone.

While frequent flyers would know that there’s a security checkpoint where they scan your luggage, another where they scan your carry-on, and another where they scan your person, this guy didn’t know that they aren’t all separate machines. At least it was an efficient security check.

Cold feet

When a bride gets cold feet at her wedding, she may just run away and call the whole thing off. What happens when a passenger gets cold feet and suddenly decides that they don’t want to fly anymore? They’d want to leave, right?

This person opted to escape via the wings of the plane. Not sure why they couldn’t just tell a flight attendant that they would like to get off the plane. But there they are, crawling slowly towards the tip of the wing, still wondering how they would get themselves off the wing.

Drying out

This next photo completely baffles us. It’s like these passengers found time to do their laundry in the airplane lavatory somehow, and are now drying out their damp underwear on their headrests. Why? How? Somebody help us understand what is happening in this picture!

If you’re on your way home, why not wait to do your laundry on solid ground? If you’re on your way to a holiday, why did the underwear you packed require washing in the first place? We seriously can’t understand what led up to this moment.

Clingy

Clingy couples don’t mind showing a little PDA. Need an example? This couple on a flight had no problem showing their love for one another. We’re sure they each paid for their own seats, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t still be all up in each others’ personal space.

On the bright side, at least they paid for two seats. And, at least they’ve still kept their masks on while cuddling, so it would make the other passengers less worried. Although we’re not sure about the safety issues of this seating arrangement.

Makeshift microwave

What do you do when you’re stuck on a plane for a couple of hours but have an intense craving for a delicious hot slice of pizza? Well, not this. You should either eat it cold or wait until the plane lands to look for other options.

However, not everyone is that patient. This guy shocked his fellow passengers when he decided to warm up his snack using the overhead light above his seat! Since planes don’t have microwaves and cold pizza is not exactly a delight, we kinda see where he’s coming from. Would you ever try this?

Making do

We all dream of taking just one flight in first-class. Those reclining seats that are basically beds are all we can think about when we’re stuck in our tiny seats. The second best is when you get a row to yourself. Sure it’s not as comfy, but at least you can stretch out.

Pile a bunch of sweaters on one end to act as a pillow, and stretch yourself out like this person here. It’s harder to do if you’re tall, but there are workarounds. But if you decide to do this, please keep your shoes and socks on!

Its never too late to get a pedicure

Whoever this person was, we hope they were on their way to their wedding or someplace where their feet would be inspected for calluses because those are the only two excuses we would ‘accept’ for this kind of behavior. Seriously, how can anyone have this kind of audacity?

As usual, netizens were furious since no one could understand what was so urgent that this lady had to give herself a pedicure on a plane right next to other passengers. Whoever you are, we hope it was worth all the disgusted stares and the unhygienic conditions you exposed everyone to!

Lounging

Who says you have to leave the lounge behind when you board the plane? You can lounge around in your seat as well. Like this lady did; she knows how to use that coveted empty row for a comfortable flight.

We can’t blame her for wanting to stretch out a bit but she took it a bit too far. First off, those stowaway trays are not meant to be footrests. And bare feet hanging out in the aisle is something no one wants!

She does yoga

You know those people who do yoga who would constantly find a way to bring it up in conversation? There’s always some anecdote about yoga class or random facts that work in every context. Like, we get it. You do yoga.

There is another group of people who take this to the extreme. Instead of just talking constantly about how they do yoga, they also find ways to show you that they do yoga. This person might be one of them. Why else would she be doing a downward dog across the walkway to a plane?

There’s a bathroom for that

More power to people who feel comfortable bearing skin in public. But there is a time and a place for everything. Boarding time on a plane isn’t exactly the time and place to be changing out of your pants, is it?

Nobody wants to see you in your undies, sir. There is a perfectly functional lavatory you can use so you can change in private. No amount of hurry is worth exposing yourself like this to other people. We don’t even want to know why he felt the need to change his pants.

An unexpected smile

Imagine reaching down in your seat’s back pocket and pulling out a set of dentures! Honestly, this has unlocked a new fear in us since we are certain that we will never ever go searching in random seat pockets for anything.

Generally, dentures are quite creepy to look at, but this set actually looks creepier than most. What is that black line running down the front tooth? Also, what happened to the owner of these teeth? Did they just forget and get off the plane without them? So many questions.

Drying out the laundry

The number of times we’ve seen people on this thread drying out their items of clothing, from socks, shoes, to underwear—why don’t people do these things at home? Nobody wants to see you holding up your underwear for an hour!

We understand this behavior if we saw this at a concert or music festival. Somewhere open with an odd yet energetic vibe. But on an airplane? Please put that away. People really do baffle us sometimes. Why do they do this? Somebody explain.

Soda with a side of hair

We’re not denying that long hair is a problem on airplanes, but it seems not everyone understands up to deal with it. Sure, ponytails are cute, and yes, they’re difficult to sit on a high-backed chair with it, because you can’t fully rest your head. So what do you do?

You put the ponytail over the headrest. This is all well and good, but not for the person behind you on the plain, who desperately doesn’t want his soda with a side of hair. This person could have just taken her hair out of the ponytail for the journey.

No mask

No matter what the rules are, some people always seem to find ways to subvert them through stubbornness, ignorance, or a loophole. This old man is one of them. Clearly this flight required everyone to wear a mask, but he wasn’t.

He has a lady’s underwear covering his face. Is it a medical-grade mask? Absolutely not? Does it cover his face? Barely. Is he putting other people at risk with his stupid show? Yes. Has he made his point? Yes sir, now please put on a mask.

Plastic shield

Remember the man wearing a gas mask on his flight? Well, meet the low-budget version of that. We understand that flying during a pandemic can be scary, so we can let this behavior slide. Well, sort of. We can at least understand the anxiety of traveling.

Both this man and the person beside him are wearing what looks to be one of those cheap plastic raincoats. Surely this couldn’t have been comfortable to wear on the plane. They probably can’t even move without making a noise!

Poppers on the plane

And now we’re moving on to gross county because that’s where this kind of behavior belongs. Popping zits is one of those things that everyone knows they shouldn’t do, but they still do it anyway, like sneaking a peek at someone’s medicine cabinet when you use their bathroom.

According to experts, there is a reason why we love popping pimples. Apparently, doing it releases dopamine which, as you know, makes us feel good. However, a plane is nowhere near an appropriate place to indulge this seemingly irresistible urge! They could have definitely waited to get home.

Dirty feet

Imagine purposefully booking the window seat on a plane so that you can have a good view throughout the flight, but getting stuck with this guy next to you. The view of clouds out the window can’t make up for this view of dirty feet.

Does this guy ever wash his feet? The only way it can be that dirty is if he stepped in mud barefoot and wiped it off with a tissue before stepping on the flight. Not the best thing to be sitting next to for hours.

Bad parenting?

We understand that traveling with infants and children is no easy feat. They need to constantly be entertained, fed, and well-rested. It’s difficult for them to do these things when they’re uncomfortable in a plane seat. Sure crying babies are annoying, but they don’t understand what’s going on.

The easy thing to do would be to pile a blanket on the floor of the plane and let your child lie down there. But where is the safety in this? The kid’s legs are in the aisle, at risk of being stepped on by tired people trying to get to the lavatory!

Sleep hack

This one had people divided because some thought it was an ingenious idea while the rest thought it was reckless and disgraceful. This guy decided to use the extra legroom that separates the seats close to the emergency door as his temporary bed.

The problem is, it’s right next to the plane’s emergency door, which, as we all know, is supposed to be used by passengers should any unforeseeable crisis happen. If any such thoughts crossed his mind, he must have ignored them because he seems perfectly content and oblivious.

Personal bubble

Between the gas mask and the plastic raincoats, this is the middle ground. Sure, it’s not aesthetically pleasing, but it may very well be more protective than just a mask. Our only concern is, how are people breathing in there?

Surely by the end of the flight, they’re going to end up dizzy from breathing in their own carbon dioxide? Additionally, the fact that they’re right by the emergency exit might hinder people from evacuating quickly in case of an emergency.

Captain Underpants

We just can’t explain what’s going on in this picture. Did this woman think her underwear would make for a good eye mask? Isn’t a bra more comfortable and a better fit for that job? Why is her underwear on her head??

Some of the passengers around her seem to also be weirded out by this ridiculous show. We wonder what it looks like from the front. Maybe it just looks ridiculous from the back. We really hope that this is her own clean underwear, at least.

Doodling on air

Kids and crayons are always a recipe for disaster. If they aren’t munching on them like a tasty snack, they are giving your walls a makeover with their favorite new thing, be it a new letter or a new animal they just learned.

This incredibly annoying pastime seems to have found its way on air too. Pictured here is the work of a kid who was clearly enjoying learning the alphabet. Exciting times. They were probably bored, so they figured they could fill the time with a review session on the basics of language.

Hello toes

Uncivilized people like this don’t belong on airplanes. Do they not realize that their behavior makes other passengers uncomfortable? We’re not against anyone taking their shoes off on flights, but please keep your feet to yourselves. This isn’t a complicated idea, yet it seems to be a common issue.

Imagine having to eat your in-flight meal with someone’s toe hanging out next to you. Not cool! There should be a sanction for people who do this on flights. If you can pay for a ticket, you can behave like a civilized person.

Sleeping beauties

Long flights can really take a toll on your energy. All you need is good sleep, but you can’t really do that when you’re sitting basically upright. When you have a row of seats to yourself, you can lie down and stretch out a bit.

But what if you’re traveling with someone else and there’s only one row empty? Well, you compromise. We hope these two took turns sleeping on the seats. At least then they’ll be sharing in their suffering. Though the floor of a plane doesn’t seem like the most sanitary place to rest your head.

The whole leg

Okay, we’ve seen toes in between the seats. Now, get ready for a whole leg through the gap between the seat and the window! Such disrespect, such uncivilized behavior. If we were the ones that took this picture, we would have something to say to the person behind us.

We get that you would need to stretch out, but there are other ways to do this! You can walk around in the aisle for starters. Or try stretching your legs out under the seat. Just don’t stretch out in such a disturbing and disruptive way.

Time for a DIY project

Traveling can get quite boring, especially if the destination you are headed to is far away. That’s why people bring books, magazines, games, or watch movies so as to occupy their minds en route. Some, like us, sleep as soon as they can.

However, it looks like there’s another group of passengers with a completely different way of passing the time; crafts. This lady was pictured trying to make a friendship bracelet on a flight. Remember those? We aren’t against them in any way, but then again, as we said, bare feet on air is just a no-no.

Pants off

As we’ve said before, there is a time and place for everything on a flight, including strutting your stuff in your boxer shorts. A flight is definitely not the place for that. Kindly keep the underwear activity in the lavatory.

Yes, science has shown that being on long flights can affect your blood flow if you’re wearing restrictive clothing. But isn’t the answer to that just to switch out your jeans for loose-fitting joggers? And, again, do so in the bathroom, not the aisle!

Too lazy

The in-flight entertainment is there to keep us occupied throughout long flights. Nowadays, it’s operated by a touch screen, rather than those built-in remote controllers. But the touch screen means that you need to sit at least a little bit upright in order to use the system.

This kid is too lazy to sit up that he tried to control the in-flight entertainment system with his toes. Unfortunately, we don’t see this strategy working. He can’t even see what’s on the screen in that position! We really hope that someone wiped down that screen before the next flight.

Suit up

Destination weddings mean you need to travel with your suit. It’s never convenient to have to travel bringing formal wear. You don’t want to wrinkle the suit, but you also don’t want to bring around a clothes hanger on the plane.

This guy has decided that he’d rather bring his suit in a hanger. But that does mean that there’s nowhere to hang the suit on the plane! Honestly, he could have brought it in his suitcase and just ironed it when he got to the hotel.

Stretch up

Okay, this is actually pretty funny. At least this person is choosing to stretch their legs upwards instead of forwards into the seat in front of them! They’re not disturbing or invading anyone’s personal space by doing this. And they have their socks on! We’re surprised by that one.

We do wonder about the safety risk in stretching out like this, though. They would still need to be wearing their seatbelt, but it wouldn’t be possible in this position. We just hope the plane doesn’t hit turbulence while they’re in this position.

The perils of boredom

Traveling with kids is not an easy endeavor. Ask any parent you know. Or better yet, ask anyone who has ever sat next to someone with a fussy baby on a plane or a bus. As frustrated as you may be, trust us, the mum has it worse.

Aside from children who cry relentlessly and throw tantrums in public, we now have another ‘brand’ who are less noisy but a nuisance nonetheless. We get that stickers can be fun because we loved them a lot as kids, too, but these parents shouldn’t have let the fun get to this point.

Just plain disgusting

Remember the toes in between the seats from a few entries ago? We know we were harsh towards that, but that pales in comparison to this next set of toes. This is actually so disgusting we refuse to look at the photo.

The audacity this person has to shove their dirty, crusty toes in between the airplane seat. This is such a violation of privacy and just plain off-putting in general. We hope the passenger who took this photo reported them to the authorities.

Feet in frame

This is the only acceptable way to stretch your legs in front of you during flights — when you’re at the very first row and there’s only a wall in front of you. First-row seats are great because you have a lot of leg room.

The way this person has their legs up, it’s like their feet are framing the screen. Not sure what the purpose of this is, maybe their legs are just too long to stretch out straight. But why do so many passengers not keep on their shoes or socks?

Leaking

Trigger warning: disgusting wound leak. We’re not kidding with this one. Scroll back up if you don’t want to vomit like we just did. What in God’s good earth is going on here? People with serious wounds really shouldn’t be traveling.

They should stay home until they fully heal because Lord knows what might happen on a flight? Your stitches may unravel, or you might leak like this guy here, and it’s just not something you want to go through. It’s not sanitary for, well, anyone.

Now’s as good a time as any

What is it about planes and pedicures? We have already seen one instance of this, and we’re willing to bet that there are several others. Could it be that some airlines are offering their passengers nail files and buffers as part of their complimentary service?

Unlike the other woman we saw before, this one was captured painting her toes on the plane. Now, we all know that polish usually has a very strong smell which some people find intolerable, but it seems she couldn’t care less.

Polly’s first flight

We mentioned how annoying kids can be when they start being fussy on the plane. Now, we have a worse kind of fate than being stuck next to such a child, which is sitting next to someone traveling with a parrot.

Please don’t get us wrong; parrots, cockatoos, parakeets, and the rest of these household birds are all very cute. But you also have to admit that they can be quite noisy when they want to be. We can just imagine the bird saying, “Polly wants a cracker” every few minutes!

Food in the seat pocket

Something tells us that whoever did this has probably never worked in the service industry. Otherwise, they would know just how frustrating it is to clean up after grown inconsiderate customers who lack any kind of manners or etiquette.

Have you ever tried to clean up noodles that have been smooshed on a woolen carpet? It’s not that easy. We imagine that cleaning them from a plane seat’s pocket is even harder. We can only hope that none of it got to the floor while the cup was being shoved into the tiny space.

Keep your shoes on

Still on seat pockets, now we have something even worse than leftovers. Someone took a picture of a passenger who had removed their dirty sandals and, instead of leaving them on the floor like a normal person, decided to place them there.

What is the fascination with being barefoot on planes? If it’s not for impromptu pedicures, it seems other passengers just remove their shoes and chill. The floor of a plane is actually quite filthy, like most floors generally are, so we wouldn’t recommend removing your shoes, much less placing them in the pockets.

Of annoying passengers and their sweaters

As we mentioned before, some people like to watch movies during flights because it keeps their minds occupied. With that said, it can be hard to concentrate if the person seated ahead of you is as annoying as this guy was.

The traveler who posted this shared that they were on a 10-hour cross-Atlantic flight when they had the unfortunate luck of sitting behind this guy. Apparently, they asked him to remove the sweater a total of four times until, finally, they decided to flip it over him as he was catching a snooze.

Getting glammed up

At this point, we think it’s safe to assume that if airlines decided to provide in-flight beauty treatments, they would make a killing! They would also reduce the burden of cleanup they encounter since it would be concentrated in a specific area.

In yet another instance of passengers behaving badly, a woman was photographed as she was trying to apply her fake nails. We can’t help but wonder how things would turn out if the plane experienced a nasty case of turbulence!

Better bring wipes next time!

Remember when we said the floor of a plane is one of its filthiest parts? We feel like we should take that back, thanks to this photo. At this rate, we think it would serve everyone’s interest if some kind of fine was instituted to curb behavior like this.

This woman had the audacity to remove her shoes and place her feet on the seat ahead of her. To make matters worse, both feet had plasters meaning she probably had open wounds on them! Needless to say, we’re wiping down every inch of our seats with antibacterial wipes next time we need to travel.