Is it just me, or are air travelers becoming more and more angry with each other this summer?
Not so for passengers like Leigh Shulman, who admits she nearly lost her cool on a recent flight after staggering through the airport with a freshly broken ankle.
“Other tourists were pushing me around,” she says. “They didn’t seem to notice the boots.”
Ms. Shulman felt her blood pressure rise, and it continued for the entire trip. “I was on edge for hours,” she admits. She blames poor airport design, airline indifference and increasingly self-indulgent passengers.
This summer will probably be the busiest summer for air travel in the US, which means the planes will be full. It’s also a controversial summer with a controversial US presidential election coming up. This summer will probably be the busiest summer for air travel in the US, which means the planes will be full. It’s also a controversial summer with a controversial US presidential election coming up. To make matters worse, last week saw a flurry of flight cancellations after the CrowdStrike meltdown.
Experts say this is a spark that could ignite the situation.
Jeremy Murchland, president of travel insurance company Seven Corners, said the situation has left travelers feeling more anxious, stressed and exhausted than they’ve been since the pandemic began.
“They’re responding to that stress in inappropriate ways by aggressing,” he says.
Shulman, a writing coach and public speaker, said that despite being shaken, she resisted the urge to punch one of her passengers.
“I took a few deep breaths,” she says, “and got on the plane.”
It doesn’t always end that way.
Incident of angry air traveller makes headlines again
There are so many incidents of angry airline passengers that it’s hard to compile a highlights reel, but here they are:
Last week was a particularly bad time for passengers: Rapper Sandra “Pepa” Denton said she was escorted off a Southwest Airlines flight after an argument over seats, and NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Davis was escorted off a United Airlines flight in handcuffs after an altercation with a flight attendant.
The statistics also paint a disturbing picture: The Federal Aviation Administration reports that in-flight incidents remain at high levels, and that “recent increases indicate there is still work to be done.” (Overall, passenger misconduct appears to be on the decline since the pandemic.)
Why are passengers so upset?
So why are airline passengers so cranky? Experts say it boils down to three reasons.
Manners have gone out the window.
Let’s put it plainly: people are rudeer than ever, and that anti-social behavior is amplified when you’re sitting inside a pressurized aluminum tube with no way out. Manners are collapsing not just at airports, but throughout society. But according to etiquette expert Rosalinda Oropeza Randall, one thing is underpinning this unacceptable behavior: “Impunity,” she says. Indeed, many incidents go unreported because they’re just a minor tantrum.
Flying is more stressful than usual.
Traveling has become more of a hassle than ever before. Crowded flights and reduced bin space have made air travel more stressful than it’s been in recent years. The number of in-flight incidents reported to the Federal Aviation Administration remains high compared to pre-pandemic levels, and the number of high-profile altercations between flight attendants and passengers seems to be doubling every week. Without a doubt, air travel puts a lot of pressure on us.
Junk fees are increasing
“A big part of what makes consumers angry is the feeling that they’re being ripped off at every turn,” says Beth Walter, a professor of business communication at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. She says extra charges for luggage or seat reservations anger passengers. “Nobody likes hidden fees, and when they pop up mid-trip, they can infuriate stressed-out, exhausted travelers who’ve been planning their summer vacations for the past year and are hoping everything will go according to plan,” she adds.
What to do to stay cool this summer
Look, I’m not gonna lie: the best way to stay calm this summer is to find another way to get there or stay home.
As a traveler, you want to have a great, stress-free trip — you get it all. But that’s not possible. I travel a lot, and I always feel anxious in the same places: security checkpoints, customs, pre-boarding, baggage conveyor belts.
Colleen Newvine, who teaches stress management workshops, said Shulman, the passenger who broke her ankle, had the right idea.
“Breathing slowly and deeply, and exhaling for twice as long as you inhale, signals to your nervous system that it is safe,” she says.
What do you do if someone is rude to you? Don’t retaliate, advises etiquette expert Nick Layton.
“Don’t respond to disrespect with more disrespect,” he says.
It will only escalate, and you’ll end up in my next highlight reel. Layton says you should assume the misconduct wasn’t done willfully and intentionally. Give your passenger the benefit of the doubt, and a solution will come.
Finally, remember your manners, advises Thomas Plant, a psychology professor at Santa Clara University.
“It all comes down to respect and compassion,” he told me. “In general, showing both respect and compassion to the person who’s upset can help defuse rising tensions.” The same is true on an airplane, in a busy airport, or at a crowded baggage claim area.
Airlines must defuse this summer’s bomb
It may seem like we’re blaming passengers for the growing anger, but we’d be wrong. The US aviation industry bears a large share of the responsibility for creating this problem. This summer’s bombshell should be easy to defuse.
What can be done? Space out seats to give passengers a little more personal space, instead of packing them in like sardines. Eliminate the unnecessary fees that frustrate travelers. Maybe give flight attendants a little more customer-service training rather than combat training. But that will be hard to achieve at a time when airline profitability is declining.
If airlines start treating us with respect and consideration, maybe we will start behaving with respect and consideration too.
Ah, I know, dream on, but someone had to say it.
