There’s something about airports and aeroplanes that turns otherwise reasonable adults into chaotic, baffling versions of themselves.
Maybe it’s the pressure of travel, maybe it’s the £6 bottles of water, or maybe it’s just the absolute lawlessness of a duty-free zone. Either way, the airport brings out some behaviours that make you wonder if society is actually okay. Here are some things people do at airports that genuinely make you question whether we, as a species, should be allowed to board a plane at all.
1. Standing up immediately when the plane lands
Technically, this happens on the plane and not at the airport, but it still deserves to be included. The seatbelt sign’s still on, the plane hasn’t even parked properly, and half the passengers are already hunched over in the aisle like they’re about to storm a castle. Where do you think you’re going? The doors aren’t even open yet.
It’s not just annoying; it creates chaos for no reason. If everyone just waited the extra three minutes, we could all get off in an orderly fashion, but no. Someone always has to leap up like their legs are spring-loaded.
2. Cutting the security queue like it’s a school lunch line
There’s always one person pretending not to see the end of the line. They casually drift past a hundred tired travellers with that “I’m just looking for the toilets” energy, then slot themselves in mid-queue like it’s nothing. Bonus points if they bring a whole group with them, clutching passports and waving boarding passes like VIP wristbands at a music festival. We see you, and we are judging you.
3. Treating the gate like a nightclub
You’d think “We’ll now begin boarding by row” was a clear instruction. But no, as soon as a gate number appears, there’s a stampede like they’re giving out free iPhones. People who are seated in row 38 sprint forward as if row numbers are just a gentle suggestion. What’s the rush? You’ve got an assigned seat. The plane isn’t going to leave without you. Sitting at the gate doesn’t need to feel like a survival challenge.
4. Taking their shoes off… in public… without shame
This one’s particularly unhinged. You’re on a plane, not in your own living room. The moment the flip-flops come off, and bare feet make contact with public surfaces, we’re all officially in a hostage situation. It’s somehow even worse when someone props their socked feet on the seat in front or decides to go for a barefoot stroll to the loo. No one wants to see your toes at 30,000 feet. No one.
5. Blocking walkways while having full-blown reunions
Arrivals halls are emotional, and that’s fair enough. However, there’s a special kind of madness reserved for the people who stop dead in the middle of the flow of foot traffic to hug, cry, or retell their entire life story. The rest of us are just trying to get to baggage reclaim without running someone over with a trolley. Please reunite joyfully, just… maybe off to the side?
6. Using speakerphone in the terminal like it’s a private call
No headphones? No shame, apparently. There’s always one person on FaceTime shouting into their phone while pacing the terminal like they’re on a business call in 1998. We don’t need to hear your mum’s reaction to the hotel or your entire work call about invoices. Some things are best kept to yourself, or at least your AirPods.
7. Treating the luggage carousel like a wrestling ring
The bags haven’t even started moving, and people are already shoulder-to-shoulder, guarding their spot like it’s a competitive sport. Then the bags come out, and it turns into a low-level brawl. Let’s normalise standing back and stepping forward only when your bag actually shows up. Elbowing past four people for a suitcase that isn’t even yours? That’s madness.
8. Taking up the whole row of seats with their bags
It’s 6 a.m., the terminal’s packed, and someone has stretched out like they own the lounge — one seat for them, one for their bag, and maybe one for their duty-free snacks. Meanwhile, real humans are left standing, clutching their backpacks like Victorian ghosts. A polite rearrange is all it takes, but the personal space hogs never seem to notice.
9. Bringing a five-course meal onto a crowded flight
We’re talking tuna sandwiches, boiled eggs, or a rogue curry from Pret. As soon as that foil comes off, the cabin turns into a sensory battlefield. There’s no escape at 30,000 feet—that smell is your new air for the next two hours. It’s not about being anti-snack. It’s about understanding that certain foods should not be airborne. Ever.
10. Arguing with staff over the overhead lockers
Watching someone insist their clearly oversized suitcase will fit if they just turn it the right way is like witnessing a very specific kind of delusion. Meanwhile, the rest of the queue is delayed, and the flight crew has aged ten years. If your bag doesn’t fit, it’s not a personal attack. It’s physics. And the overhead bin is not a magical storage unit—it has limits.
11. Hogging the charging points like they’ve leased the airport
One charger, one phone, one person—hat’s fair. But there’s always someone charging every device they’ve ever owned, with cables sprawling across benches like they’re running a tech shop. Meanwhile, the rest of us are eyeing the last 3% of battery on our phones like it’s a countdown to social death. Sharing is caring, folks.
12. Leaving their manners at security
Somewhere between removing their shoes and collecting their tray, people forget how to say “please,” “thank you,” or “sorry I just shoved my bag into your ribs.” Security is stressful, yes, but basic decency should still apply. The scanners might pick up metal, but apparently not entitlement. You can take off your belt without becoming a menace to society. It’s entirely possible.
