A recent study of 2,000 UK travellers has revealed the most annoying habits of fellow passengers when flying. Commissioned by flight comparison website Skyscanner, the poll found that excessive drinking is the biggest pet peeve, cited by 48 per cent of respondents.
Other top annoyances include queue-cutting and people reclining their seats while food or drink is being served. Two-fifths of those surveyed considered any seat reclining during a flight a faux pas, while using gadgets without headphones rounded off the top five.
Additional irritating behaviours include standing up as soon as the plane lands, leaving bags on another seat, hogging both armrests, draping hair over the back of the seat, and taking up multiple seats in departure lounges.
To avoid conflict, 74 per cent of respondents said passengers should ask the person behind before reclining their chair. Interestingly, 12 per cent admitted to engaging in some of these annoying behaviours themselves.
Laura Lindsay, Skyscanner’s travel trends expert, offered advice on avoiding airport stress: “Even better, you can save time by using in airport pharmacies (such as Boots) who offer a click and collect service. This is available from selected airports in the UK, including stores after security, which should mean you don’t pay airport prices.”
