Are passengers stupid?

[Aviador]

Airport staff abuse passengers on Facebook

Check-in staff are the latest airport and airline employees to abuse passengers on Facebook, the Star reports. They branded those who ultimately pay their wages ‘stupid’ and ‘disgusting’.

More than 7,000 current and former airport employees have joined a Facebook group mockingly called ‘I work with airline passengers, give me a break’, in which they compete with abusive stories and postings. The comments echo those made last year by workers at Virgin and BA on the website.

The Facebook group was set up by staff at Manchester Airport. It is open to anyone who has ‘ever had to explain what a liquid is to someone who is older than 12’. The organisers say: ‘If it amazes you passengers don’t know where they are going, even though this holiday has been saved for all year... this group is for you!’

Source

Most people will have to deal with the general public in some way throughout their working lives and most will people will criticise their customers at some point. If you deal with hundreds upon hundreds of people over the course of the year, you're undoubtedly going to come across the odd one or two fools or rogues during that time. You only have to watch one of the airline programs to realise that eccentric people are common place at airports. This could partly be because the airport environment is alien to them causing them to forget, do or say the most unusual things.

 

[ericc]

Agree, If you are dealing with the public in any job you have to expect some sort obnoxious behaviour. If you don't experience passenger anger at some point I would suggest you are not doing your job!

Also there many airport workers out there who are rude aswell who probrably deserve it anyway.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Every occupation sees dippy customers.

The funny thing is that I bet some of the check-in staff making comments about obtuse passengers come across as equally stupid when they themselves are customers in other environments.

Glass houses, stones and throwing things come to mind.

 

[Aviador]

These are some of the questions that have been asked on board Virgin Atlantic flights.

"Can you turn the engines down, they're too noisy!"
"Please can the Captain stop the turbulence?"
"Is there a McDonald's on board?"

Are people really that silly? Most definitely, I would say.

I have known passengers turn up at the airport who have booked on flights for the previous week. A number of passengers have turned up at the airport only to find out they're at the wrong airport. This is just for starters. Heaven knows what other staff at the airport have been asked!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

More stupidity

I don't know if anyone else shares my annoyance with passengers who ignore the pre-flight safety briefing and those who insist on releasing their seat belts, and in some cases standing up, before the captain has switched off the seat belt signs.

Some will say that they fly on the same type of aircraft with the same airline so often that they are completely familiar with the safety procedures. That may be so to a point but I wonder if they would be so sanguine if the flight crew didn't bother with their pre-flight checks on the basis that they are experienced operators of the type and would rather spend a couple of minutes reading a magazine instead. I also think it's plain bad manners to read, chat with a neighbour, look out of the window or simply stare into space when the pre-flight safety briefing is being given.

The cabin crew always warns passengers to remain in their seats with belts secured after landing until the signs are extinguished but I wonder if airlines are really that bothered. The warning is probably intended as a company defence mechanism in case someone is injured when ignoring the seat belt signs.

I saw something last week that shocked me. My wife and I were seated in a turbo-prop aircraft (two seats either side of the aisle) behind a woman with a child about eight years old. The woman was seated at the window and the child next to the aisle. The adult dutifully ensured that both her own seat belt and that of the child were fastened prior to the landing approach.

Their belts remained fastened when the cabin staff crew member carried out her final walk through the cabin prior to landing. However, as soon as the crew member had taken her seat at the back of the aircraft the woman released the child's belt and allowed the girl to lean across her (the woman's) lap in order to look out of the window as we came in to land. They remained so with the child unbelted right through the landing process.

I could not believe that a mother (I presumed that was what she was) could behave in so negligent a way towards her daughter.

My first reaction was to say something to the woman as we were leaving the aircraft but, on reflection, I concluded that someone acting in such a way would be unreceptive and I'd probably be the recipient of a mouthful of invective. I don't know what the crew could have done either after the event.

I wonder if anyone else has experienced jaw-dropping behaviour on the part of fellow passengers.

 

[Aviador]

I'm sure this kind of behavior happens all the time. All too often people don't heed the warnings given to them in the mandatory safety briefing. Accidents are rare thankfully but when they do happen, the lack of common sense must inevitably lead to death. Your example is just one of many examples, sadly.

 

[Seasider]

I think I would have "grassed" her to the cabin crew for putting her daughter at risk like that.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I think I would have "grassed" her to the cabin crew for putting her daughter at risk like that.

We seriously considered it but we couldn't speak to the cabin crew until we'd come to a halt on the stand and we didn't believe the crew could have done much about it then anyway as the incident had concluded.

 

[BSL-2km]

Indeed there seems to be a level of complacency with todays air travellers.
Recently seen a few cases of " I can't do without my book/phone (whatever)" and need to get it from the overhead bin while taxiing for take-off... blimey.
Also on the 'stupid' theme, why does everyone jump up immediately when the aircraft stops and proceed to stand in a back breaking stoop for sometimes 10 minutes ? I love seeing these guys getting their bags after me in the hall..

Just as a footnote, i worked check in and operations for BMI at Belfast City airport for a while and i had my fair share of annoying customers, really stoopid.

 

[Ray Finkle]

why does everyone jump up immediately when the aircraft stops and proceed to stand in a back breaking stoop for sometimes 10 minutes ? I love seeing these guys getting their bags after me in the hall..

I mentioned something similar in a recent trip report. We were in the last few rows of a jam packed 757 with 200 odd passengers in front of us all disembarking through one door via a jet bridge. As soon as the aircraft stopped (and before the seat belt sign was extinguished) they were up. I can understand that some may want/need to stand up in the galley area and stretch the legs but many were stuck in the pose mentioned above for at least 10 minutes.

I also heard numerous moans about why steps hadn't been attached to the rear of the aircraft. I have to wonder if they had been would those same passengers then be moaning about being forced to disembark via steps only to have to climb more stairs to get into the terminal?

Changing track slightly I recently saw a moan on social media from a particular person who was far from happy about the ridiculously long wait that they had in baggage reclaim. I did feel for them as, going by their post, they were forced to wait a whole 21 minutes! Outrageous!

Do people not realise that hundreds of bags need to be unloaded and stacked onto the baggage trucks, those trucks then need to drive anything up to half a mile on roads with a very low speed limit (which is strictly enforced) for the bags to then be loaded one by one onto a baggage belt?

Maybe I have a higher tolerance threshold but anything under 30 minutes and I'm very happy indeed.

 

[Jerry]

A lot of it is down to ignorance of how the processes work and the fact that society seems to wants everything happening instantly without realising that is not always possible and most things will take time especially at airports where safety is paramount.

 

[Seasider]

A lot of people are so selfish that they think their luggage should be hand delivered