Travel etiquette

Travelling by plane can be a luxurious and exciting experience, but it can also be long, tiring and difficult. Sharing a confined space with strangers, often for prolonged periods of time, can take its toll and the behaviour of fellow passengers can adversely affect one’s enjoyment of flying.

Just like in everyday grounded society, there is a certain etiquette to follow when it comes to air travel. It’s important to be aware of any behaviour or actions that may upset or agitate fellow travellers and to try and prevent these where possible.

1. Be polite to Cabin Crew. The people who are helping you travel safely and as comfortably as possible are your cabin crew. Cabin crew notoriously suffer large amounts of abuse from the public, but they should, like anyone else, be treated with respect.

2. Keep Music Low. A major annoyance for other passengers is loud music coming from headphones. This is also a common problem for train, bus and coach travellers. Remember that other people may be trying to read or to listen quietly to their own music. Mutual respect by keeping volumes down will benefit everyone on the plane.

3. Stay in your own personal space. Space is an issue on planes and while some travellers accept that being close to stranger is part and parcel of travel, for others it can make them very uncomfortable. Whilst moving through the cabin or seated in your chair, try to stay within your own personal space and not invade others’. This includes leaning over people or coming in too close to talk to them.

4. Take Care. As well as being aware of personal space, it’s important to be generally more careful and cautious with your movements than in everyday life. When getting out of your seat for instance, try not to pull down on the chair in front. Obviously, if you have mobility issues, staff will help you and other passengers will understand.

5. Seat Reclining. If you fancy a nap or just feel like being more relaxed, it’s polite to ask the person behind if you can recline your seat. If the passenger behind is eating they may not take kindly to having your seat pushed back into them. On night time flights when most people are resting, it’s more acceptable to have your seat reclined and of course, the option is there, but it’s best to try and be aware of people around you.

6. Travelling with Children. Anyone who has caught a flight sitting behind a family will know how difficult children can be on flights. If you are travelling with kids, hopefully most passengers will understand that you are having a difficult time and that babies and infants do not always find flying easy.

However, if you can try to prevent too much noise or disturbance form your children, your fellow passengers will be grateful. Bring plenty of snacks and entertainment to prevent them getting bored.

7. Be Neat and Tidy. When sharing such a tiny space, it’s important to be as tidy as possible. Leaving rubbish around your seat will quickly encroach on others’ space and this can cause anguish for other travellers. Be sure to dispose of any rubbish in the appropriate areas or hand it over to the cabin crew.

As with food and general rubbish, keeping your luggage tidy is also considerate behaviour. Ensure all hand luggage and duty free shopping is packed away in the overhead storage and not in anyone’s way.

8. Stay Sober. It is normal to fancy a drink on a flight, especially if this is the start of a holiday and many airplanes offer drinks for free. However, drunken behaviour can be upsetting for other passengers and can potentially cause conflict. Try to keep alcohol intake to a minimum and stop drinking if you begin to feel lightheaded.

9. Be Patient. Patience is a very important virtue for travel in general and particularly when travelling by plane. It may be frustrating when a flight is delayed, but there is nothing the airline crew can do to change it, so try to avoid outbursts that may make other passengers uncomfortable.

10. No Shoving. Patience when entering and leaving the aircraft is also important. Shoving is entirely pointless and this can distress elderly passengers or those with young children. You will not get to your seat or go through customs much quicker, so take your time and help others where you can.

For some people, travelling is the best part of a holiday, but it’s a shame when a flight is ruined by the behaviour of other passengers, such as abuse of staff, inconsiderate actions or general rudeness. A plane can be a close space to share with lots of people you don’t know. By following these ten etiquette rules for travelling by plane, yourselves and your fellow passengers will hopefully enjoy a calm and comfortable carriage.