Air travel offers a glimpse into the fascinating world of human behavior, and sometimes, passengers witness actions that are nothing short of shady. In this collection of stories, we delve into the intriguing realm of airline travel and explore the shadiest behaviors observed by fellow passengers.
From suspicious activities to questionable motives, these tales highlight the moments when the veil of normalcy is lifted, revealing the darker side of human nature at 35,000 feet. Join us as we embark on a journey through the annals of flight, where passengers share their firsthand accounts of the shadiest things they’ve seen someone do on a plane.
Get ready to be captivated, astonished, and perhaps even inspired to keep a watchful eye during your next airborne adventure.
All content has been edited for clarity.
He Needed To Experience More Than Fear
“On one flight, a family of 5 sat with the husband and wife together and their youngest daughter between them. The oldest daughter looked to be about and was in the aisle seat across the aisle from her father with her little brother who looked to be about 10 in the center seat next to her and a guy with a laptop in the window seat in the same row as the older kids. I was seated behind the father in the aisle seat behind the parents and across the aisle from the laptop guy.
About an hour into the flight, I got up to get my iPad from my bag to play games and noticed that the laptop guy had red-wired earbuds in. He was watching movies full screen on his 14” laptop. It was not appropriate at all to be watching in public let alone next to children.
I noticed the young boy in the center seat glued to the action on the adjacent laptop screen. I guess it was at that point his sister noticed that he was staring at the guy’s laptop and glanced over to see what was worth staring at. She started a commotion elbowing her little brother. The two kids tussled briefly as I was getting my iPad and then settled back down. As I sat down I could see the daughter was now looking over at the laptop as well. It was all very inappropriate. The laptop guy seemed largely unaware of anything choosing to focus on the movie or simply trying not to draw more attention to himself.
After 45 minutes, the guy put the laptop away and asked the kids to let him out to use the restroom. The young boy in the middle seat stayed in his seat but the girl in the aisle seat got up and moved forward of the row thinking the man would be exiting the row to the rear since that was where the coach cabin bathroom was. Instead, he got up and made completely unnecessary contact with the young girl as he maneuvered around her to help himself to the first-class restroom. He was gone for 4–5 minutes and during that time I could tell the little girl was upset by the unwelcome contact she had with the laptop guy. She watched the aisle for him to exit the restroom and nervously looked around not knowing what to do.
When the guy came out of the first-class restroom you could see the fear in her eyes as she looked around madly not knowing what to do and not able to say anything to her father. She popped up out of her seat and looked around. As he approached he had a smug grin on his face like he was enjoying it. The girl glanced back at me and I motioned for her to step back my way. As she did, I got up and moved ahead of her row so her father couldn’t see what was about to take place. The aisles were wider in this flight than most to where two adults could barely pass sideways. The man seemed annoyed that I would block his path and his view of the little girl.
We both turned sideways and cleared the aisle face to face as we passed I whispered to him, ‘You do that again, I’ll f*cking kill you.’
I enjoyed seeing the shock and fear in his eyes. I paused to watch him take his seat. The little girl waited to retake her seat but I could tell from the look on her face that she appreciated the gesture. I used the restroom and returned to my seat.
When I returned to my seat the laptop guy was looking out the window and refused to make eye contact with anyone. We landed about 15 minutes later. When deplaning the family of 5 left first but the laptop guy opted to remain in his seat. The little girl looked back as she left to say ‘Thanks.’ I collected my things and left behind the family. As I left I stared down the laptop guy who was in no hurry to leave the safety and comfort of his seat. He finally looked away out the window again and I exited the plane.
Creepy guys like that are on every flight. If you are traveling with kids you have to be aware all the time. Parents need to be in every row with a kid and monitor adjacent passenger activities.”
Some People Have No Shame
“I was giving out breakfast 2 hours before landing on a night flight. A lot of passengers were sleeping. When they do, and if I can drop the table, I will put their breakfast tray on it. Otherwise, I would go back and forth for ages as passengers slowly wake up one after the other.
So anyway, after breakfast, I was picking up the empty tray, when this one passenger asked me for his breakfast. Except I had put his breakfast on his table. The guy sitting near him just ate it! I couldn’t believe it! He ate his own breakfast and the one belonging to his seatmate!
Fortunately, we had a couple of passengers who didn’t want their breakfast so I had a couple of extra ones. But wow I was lost for words.”
She Handled That Very Well
“I was a TWA flight attendant back in the early 70s and I had an experience on a homebound flight to San Francisco that I would love to share. This was back in the day when passengers were given a choice of chicken or steak for their meal, so we had a lot to do.
The flight attendant crew, almost entirely women, were often hit on by male passengers. The men didn’t seem to understand that most of us were serious about our jobs. We had a lot to do in a limited amount of time. Besides, rarely did any of us ever date a passenger.
I spent most of this particular flight fending off a hammered playboy. He had become especially fond of patting my rear end as I passed his aisle seat in my section of coach. He had already embarrassed me once by pulling me into his lap to amuse his two seatmates.
That was shady, yes, but here is what took the grand prize for shady —at least on that flight.
Dinner was over and I was busy picking up the used dinner trays. When I retrieved the trays from playboy and his two seat buddies, his tray had a room key to a major San Francisco hotel, and a $100 bill was sticking out from under the napkin beside his plate.
I thought I had seen everything. Obviously, I had not.
I took them and waited until I was halfway back up the aisle toward the galley.
Then I turned around, waved the key and the $100 bill high in the air, and shouted, ‘It seems someone has lost their hotel key and money! If they belong to you, you can get them from the Captain at the door, when we’ve landed.'”
