20+ Airline passengers whose flights were worse than expected: '[A passenger] was singing the SAME line over and over: "It's a small world after all"'

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jul 14, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

It only takes 1 or 2 irritating passengers to make a flight feel like it's 100 hours long. 

If you've ever settled into a flight, only to feel a kick at the back of your seat, you know exactly what I'm talking about. One kick, then another, then another. You peer behind you to see… a toddler. Oh no! Some parents will let the little tyke kick the seat for the entire flight, while other kids scream, whine, cry, or make a huge mess. I know that travelling with kids is unavoidable at times, but there's no denying that hearing a kid cry for hours on end is annoying for every other passenger on the plane. 

The people below had some pretty rough flights themselves. From planes that randomly dropped out of the sky due to the weather, to passengers who wouldn't stop singing to themselves, there are a plethora of ways that an average flight can turn into a high-flying nightmare. 

Next, read about some crazy coffee shop drinks that baristas were stunned to make, like one super-sweet drink that the barista sampled and discovered that "it literally made my mouth go numb."

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  • 01
    MoonDaddy This isn't that bad but I was flying over southern Alberta one time and I recalled from my past drives through that area that that whole area reeked of factory pig farms. Surprisingly enough, I smelled it inside of the aircraft. "No way," I thought; I was in a pressurized, sealed tube ~30,000 feet up. I look around; the flight is almost completely empty
    via u/MoonDaddy
  • 02
    but there it is: the one other guy on the flight who's about ~5 rows in front of me has taken his shoes off. Jesus H, man! Get some Odor Eaters.
    via u/MoonDaddy
  • 03
    izzy_7_2004 On a flight to Rome a couple of years back, the lady sitting behind me and my Dad would not STFU throughout the entire two hours. When she wasn't whinging at the stewardesses over "the flight taking too long" or complaining that her diet
    via u/izzy_7_2004
  • 04
    coke was too cold, she was singing the SAME line over and over. "It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all..." Thank God this was a short flight.
    via u/izzy_7_2004
  • 05
    Fafurion The guy next to me woke me up to tell me all about the affairs he's been having on his wife and why he doesn't feel guilty about it. I wish I was joking. I had headphones in, was clearly asleep and he pulled one headphone out of my ear and shook me till I woke up. He then sat there telling me all this while I was probably bug eyed looking at him not
    via u/Fafurion
  • 06
    even responding. When we got off the plane he followed me to the baggage claim, kept talking to me about his life (I've literally only nodded and said things like uh huh). Grabbed his bag, looked at me very serious and said his wife was here and to keep my mouth shut. Then left with her. It still creeps back into my head just how odd that was.
    via u/Fafurion
  • 07
    Tea... I'm Hispanic. I boarded my flight and took my seat. I chatted briefly with the two women seated on either side of me and even offered to switch with one of them since they knew each other. A few moments later a flight attendant came over. The flight attendant assumed I didn't speak English (I know this because she only attempted to speak to me in
    via u/TearComplex5153
  • 08
    broken Spanish), and that I took someone else's seat. She asked to see my ticket and my ID and asked that I get up. I stood up, embarrassed, thinking I'd sat in the wrong seat but quickly confirmed I was in the correct seat by looking at the seat numbering. The flight attendant grabbed my ID and ticket from my hand and said something in broken Spanish to the effect that I needed to get off the
    via u/TearComplex5153
  • 09
    flight. I said calmly to her IN ENGLISH that I sat in the seat number printed on my ticket and asked what mistake could there have been? She started raising her voice to me and asked me to not get a temper with her. By this time it was very apparent I had done nothing to provoke her, and I was being exceptionally patient given the situation. The two ladies I was seated with chimed in and asked the
    via u/TearComplex5153
  • 10
    flight attendant "what is your problem with him?" The flight attendant called a second flight attendant over and they both took my ticket and ID to the front of the plane which gave me a moment to thank the two ladies for sticking up for me, but also to ask them not to escalate the situation. (The news story about the doctor being dragged off his flight had just happened a few weeks
    via u/TearComplex5153
  • 11
    earlier and I didn't want to make the news for any reason....I'm shy) The second flight attendant came back and handed me my ticket and ID and said nothing. To this day I'm not sure what that was all about. LL F you, Delta.
    via u/TearComplex5153
  • 12
    serafel My ears don't equalize pressure very well, so ascent and decent causes really severe pain in my ears. First time I flew was across the country with my parents when I was around 5years old. Screamed murder for the better part of 3 hours.
    via u/serafel
  • 13
    Very sorry to everyone on Air Canada from Edmonton to Toronto in 1996. I've learned now that pseudoephedrine helps with this, so I take it when I fly and I don't get pain.
    via u/serafel
  • 14
    Cheezburger Image 10528784128
    via louis magnotti on Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 15
    donottouchwillie1 Kid a few seats away from me sh his pants early in the flight and we had to smell it for the next 8 hours.
    via u/donottouchwillie1
  • 16
    MaggieNFredders Flying in to land. Plane had been circling for close to an hour waiting on a summer storm to pass. Finally pilot said we were attempting to land. Ensure seatbelts were on a tight. Landing was expected to be very bumpy. Significantly worse than we had been experiencing. Flight had been terribly bumpy the entire flight.
    via u/MaggieNFredders
  • 17
    Come into land drop quite a bit so that we are below the trees next to us. Engines roar as we go up to land (thankful for the valley at the end of the runway). Go to land but couldn't and take back off. Circle again. And try again. Bouncing all over the place. We finally land after getting blown all over the place. Got into the terminal notice all the workers staring at us. I
    via u/MaggieNFredders
  • 18
    mention how odd it was that no one else is in the airport. And an attendant told me that was because the airport was closed due to the storm. No flights were coming or going tonight. We were the only ones. We only landed because we were out of gas. Very thankful for the great pilot. And much less
    via u/MaggieNFredders
  • 19
    nervous about flying because if they could get us down safely through that, I figure there isn't much worse.
    via u/MaggieNFredders
  • 20
    SİB... I was a kid on a plane to France with my family, and I went to the bathroom, and while I was in there, the pilot said something in French. It was probably like "We'll be landing in an hour, weather is good", but in my child's mind, all I heard was "We
    via u/SIByTheSword
  • 21
    are about to drop the toilet", so I start frantically banging on the doors, screaming for my life, and two flight attendants open the door and look at each other, so I just put my hands by my side, chin up, and go back to my seat.
    via u/SIByTheSword
  • 22
    HappySunflowerGirl Air pressure caused me to lose hearing for the whole 5 hour flight. I was really worried.
    via u/HappySunflowerGirl
  • 23
    Markovitch12 I got on an aeroplane. While on the runway, one of the engines on the plane caught fire. We jumped down the shute, fire engines came down the runway and put out the fire. WE then herded back onto the same plane and we flew from Tashkent to Moscow. No one spoke for the whole flight
    via u/Markovitch12
  • 24
    Thaco_is_Zero Food poisoning. Hit me at the very end of the first leg of my flight, got worse during the layover and then spent almost the entire second leg of the flight in the bathroom to the point the flight attendants were asking if I was ok. It was brutal, but I managed to gut it out and not puke on anyone.
    via u/Thac0_is_Zero
  • 25
    [deleted] Plane plummeted some x amount of thousand feet in some kind of pocket of air (?). It's been years now and I forget how much, but I'm really glad I had my seatbelt. Many didn't. Luggage did fall out and concuss some people, as did ramming their heads into the overheads unexpectedly.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 26
    There was actual clapping and relieved crying from many when we landed. This was over Arizona somewhere IIRC. I don't know anything about flight, but that Captain was a true professional trying to calm everyone down and the flight crew was fantastic. If someone is in aeronautics, I would love to better understand what it was that happened.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 27
    schwenomorph I can't remember how long it lasted, but it was around 5- 10 hours... after a four hour delay, of course. There were three kids on the plane who apparently only communicated by screaming at the top of their lungs. Keep in mind that they couldn't have been younger than six.. Their mother gently told them off once, I think--I don't know what she
    via u/schwenomorph
  • 28
    actually said since it wasn't English. The plane finally lands in the pouring rain. We're told we must stay in the plane for at least another hour due to the threat of lightning-- that's a first--so everyone is even more p ed off. Finally, it's time to get off. The pilot comes over the loudspeaker to give
    via u/schwenomorph
  • 29
    instructions. Right as he does so, the three kids. begin screaming again. I and pretty much the entirety of the passengers all turned to them at once and hissed as loudly as we could: "SSSSHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
    via u/schwenomorph
  • 30
    KediraKandy Wow air. I took an 8 hour flight with them ONCE. They didn't have any entertainment, food or even water without payment. There was a toddler screaming because he was thirsty and the flight attendants refused to give
    via u/KediraKandy
  • 31
    him free water, they wanted the parents to pay. The service was horrible. The flight was delayed. I vowed to never fly with them again and one year later they finally went bankrupt.
    via u/KediraKandy
  • 32
    [deleted] 4 hour flight with little Ainsley in her booster seat behind me. She had that high shrill laugh/scream of joy, and her legs were just long enough to hit the back of my seat. Happy little Ainsley laughed and kicked hours. for 4
    via u/[deleted]
  • 33
    A few years later I was in for another flight with a child behind me but the gods were smiling down upon me. A woman in the emergency row didn't want the responsibility of assisting in an emergency, so they asked if I would be willing to switch seats. When we exited the plane I passed her walking down the concourse and she looked at me at said F you!
    via u/[deleted]
  • 34
    [deleted] The passengers all left their garbage on the ground. I was disillusioned by humanity when I deliberately left the plane as the very last person and apologised for the mess to the crew.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 35
    chefgamer85 Wasn't my worst because I thought it was fun. But the people I was traveling with thought it was very scary. I was a flight L.A. to Tokyo, and at one point the plane just dropped down. Most likely a thermal or something. But my cup of soda that was sitting on the tray suddenly floated up a couple feet and then the cup
    via u/chefgamer85
  • 36
    fell back down and the liquid a split second later. The flight attendant in the aisle slammed on the ceiling and then the floor. People that were not strapped in flew up then down as well. I thought it was fun, probably because I enjoy the tower drop rides. But right after that happened the pilot came on the intercom (speaking very calmly I might add) "Sorry ladies and gentlemen, we hit
    via u/chefgamer85
  • 37
    some minor turbulence. Please ensure your seat belt is securely fasened and if you need medical attention, please call an attendant" after which a guy on the plane shouted "that was MINOR?!" The whole situation just stuck me as funny. And I will always remember it
    via u/chefgamer85
  • 38
    Natasha_T Not me but my dad. He was the captain preparing the flight route for the next trip in the cockpit when one of the flight attendants knocked on his door and said that a passengers was being unreasonable. He set his stuff aside and walked out with her where another flight attendants was about to pick up a
    via u/Natasha_T
  • 39
    Cheezburger Image 10528783360
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 40
    carry-on suitcase from the middle aisle but my dad waved his hand at her, "no, leave it, leave it," The woman was puzzled by the request but complied and moved on to her other duties further back in the plane. A first class passenger was being really stuck up and at the sight of an authority figure, he stood from his (first class) seat, pointed
    via u/Natasha_T
  • 41
    right in my dads face and said, "finally, put my things in the overhead for me." "Sir, I'm the Captain," "And?" "nobody on my crew is responsible for putting your luggage in the overhead bin. If you require assistance, you need only ask, but we are not obligated to do it for you," My dad was very polite
    via u/Natasha_T
  • 42
    about it but the man took that as a challenge, easily picking up his own bag and shoving it against my dad's chest. "put it away," My dad was a little dumbfounded at the gall of the passenger and only stood there for a second as the man sat back down. Now, r de passengers are something that flight crews deal with A LOT but this passenger had
    via u/Natasha_T
  • 43
    completely p ed him off with that action. he let go of the bag so it fell so heavily against the cabin floor that it shook the whole aircraft, he stepped over it and continued about his business, instructing the rest of the crew to not touch the bag. The rest of the passengers filled the plane and still the man refused to put his own bag away so
    via u/Natasha_T
  • 44
    before the cabin door was closed onto the terminal ramp, my dad went back to the r de passenger, giving him one more chance, "are you sure you don't want to put it in the overhead bin?" the man ignored him so with a heavy sigh, he put his foot on the bag and kicked it down the aisle all the way to the cabin door. The man saw this and started cursing him out but my dad refused to
    via u/Natasha_T
  • 45
    stop until the bag was off of the plane and on the loading ramp. The man foolishly stepped out of the plane to get it, but when he tried to get back on the rest of the flight staff blocked his path, "sorry sir, but under federal law once you leave this aircraft you are not permitted to enter again."
    via u/Natasha_T
  • 46
    the man was shooting all sorts of insults at the flight crew for being "unprofessional" and maybe that's true but I really don't have any sympathy for this man. He tried to force his way back onto the plane and airport security had to wrestle him off the plane and back into the terminal.
    via u/Natasha_T
  • 47
    Dad never saw him again but did have to explain himself once his shift was over. He sent an email to his boss to explain the situation and his boss just laughed and told him to continue his shift the next day. No disciplinary action was taken against any of the flight crew.
    via u/Natasha_T
  • 48
    bad boarding experience but if you make a bad "flight" while my dad is flying... you're probably going to either get arrested, receive a hefty fine, or if you pose an immediate threat to someone's life while on board, you're probably going to di. Pilots are very aware how to slam you against the ceiling so just don't do it...
    via u/Natasha_T
  • 49
    it's not worth testing how patient the pilot is with some ride or ridiculous nonsense
    via u/Natasha_T
  • 50
    09
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 51
    [deleted] We hit some turbulence, which normally wouldn't have freaked me out that much. But the pilot came over the loudspeaker with a shaky voice: Don't worry about that thumping noise. That's just ice hitting the plane. (ICE?? Like the ice that blew up the Challenger???) We're going to try to get you home
    via u/[deleted]
  • 52
    safely. (TRY??? What do you mean TRY??) He should have just kept his mouth shut, if he couldn't reassure us with a nice, rich, deep voice, the kind pilots should have. I was scared to bits.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 53
    Millo234 We where half way through the flight, and the passengers' next to me where getting worried that the plane was "leaking fluids." Eventually a flight attendant is called over to check what was really going on. Embarrassingly, I somehow accidentally "snuck in" a bottle of water that began leaking.
    via u/Millo234
  • 54
    YeetoverBob27 Everyone on my flight that ate the fish got really sick and almost ded
    via u/YeetoverBob27
  • 55
    UnderTheHam 28 hour international flight with a family that had an army of crying babies that wailed for all 28 hours. We were going to the same place turns out.
    via u/UnderTheHam
  • 56
    meatbag1 Flight from John Wayne to Atlanta. Plan had mechanical problems and after boarding they did not let us off. 4 hours later we take off and the pilot says the bathrooms will be closed for the flight since they were full but we can have unlimited drinks for the flight. We didn't dare drink anything.
    via u/meatbag1
  • 57
    The... Probably just the TV screen not working on the return flight, however when I landed someone who I knew who was working at the Airport told me one of the engines had failed on my plane, thankfully we all landed safely... but like
    via u/The-Rare-Road
  • 58
    nobody on the flight mentioned on the intercom it was a bit more serious then just the TV screens not working.. oh well we made it on land in one peace and well It was still a peaceful flight.
    via u/The-Rare-Road

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