A mother traveling on a Ryanair flight to Barcelona with her two children has expressed frustration over fellow passengers who played loud music and sang at the top of their lungs during the early morning journey. The incident, which occurred at 5:40 am, lasted for three hours and disrupted her children's attempts to sleep.
Passengers Blast Music During Early Morning Flight
Megan Fitzpatrick shared a video on TikTok showing herself seated on the aircraft while passengers behind her, off-camera, could be heard playing music and singing loudly. In her caption, she described the situation as a nightmare, noting that her children were trying to sleep. The 11-second clip did not clarify whether cabin crew intervened.
Commenters Point to Off Week Festival
Many commenters on the video pointed out that Megan was traveling during Barcelona's Off Week, an annual electronic music festival that attracts revelers from around the world. They criticized her for not checking travel dates. One commenter said: "You've travelled to Barcelona during Off Week, what did you expect?" Another added: "Can't believe people book family holidays to Barca when Off Week is on."
Debate Over Etiquette and Karma
Some commenters suggested the situation was "karma" for the mother, claiming her irritation reflects how fellow travelers feel when young children scream on flights. One wrote: "This is how we feel when your kids are screaming the whole flight." However, others defended Megan, with one noting that a single upset child is "often a lot less annoying than this behaviour."
Mother's Follow-Up Explanation
Megan later posted a follow-up video explaining that she was not as upset as commenters assumed. She said: "It's not that deep. It was a wee daft video of me saying that was where I was at with the travel. Like, a f*** my life moment. Noisy plane, five in the morning, kids tired, that's all I was doing." She added that she was surprised passengers were allowed to play speakers on a plane, as she had seen people told to turn off music on trains. She argued that regardless of genre, blasting music through speakers on a plane is "inconsiderate" when not all passengers are heading to the festival.
Can You Play Music on a Plane?
According to Muzen Audio, speakers are allowed on planes except during take-off and landing, when electronic devices must be turned off or set to airplane mode. The website recommends passengers ask permission before playing music aloud. Ryanair's terms and conditions do not explicitly require headphones but state that conduct liable to "anger, upset, offend, intimidate, frighten or injure any passenger or crew member" may lead to intervention, including removal from the aircraft. The Irish Mirror has contacted Ryanair for comment.
