Almost a century and a quarter have passed since the Wright brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk, and aviation has come a long way. Now, we sit in comfortable seats, watch movies, read books, enjoy food and drinks during long flights—pleasures unimaginable to passengers in the first half of the20th century.And yet, no matter how comfortable modern aircrafts are, long flights continue to be an almost inexhaustible source of stories about numerous quarrels, inconveniences and simply awkward situations on board. There’s even a specialonline threaddedicated to such stories, a selection of the best tales from which we present to you today.More info:RedditThis post may includeaffiliate links.

Almost a century and a quarter have passed since the Wright brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk, and aviation has come a long way. Now, we sit in comfortable seats, watch movies, read books, enjoy food and drinks during long flights—pleasures unimaginable to passengers in the first half of the20th century.

And yet, no matter how comfortable modern aircrafts are, long flights continue to be an almost inexhaustible source of stories about numerous quarrels, inconveniences and simply awkward situations on board. There’s even a specialonline threaddedicated to such stories, a selection of the best tales from which we present to you today.

More info:Reddit

This post may includeaffiliate links.

Young woman traveling on her own with a very clear fear of flying on a 12 hour flight, downed some pills with red wine, was already visibly drunk, liquid s**t herself 5 hours in, I had the window there was no one in between and she had the aisle.. called for a flight attendant who spent at least 15 minutes trying to wake her up.. I had an extra pair of sweatpants in my backpack that I gave to her. She was in terror, mortified.. when we landed she asked for my address.She sent me the nicest thank you card and a pair of nicer sweats in the same color and size I gave her.

Person in a red dress sipping wine, representing worst experience long flight.

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Flying UK - Doha - East coast Australia.Somewhere over the southern tip of India I started to feel very off. Hours and hours of horrific cramps, gas, nausea, fevers. Nothing happening in the bathroom though.Got off in Oz and made it to the first bathroom. My body then turned into an outlet for what I can only assume was satan’s firehose, based on volume and violence at which fluid was emptying from my body.Made it through immigration and home in one piece, sweating and whimpering. Spent the next 24hours sat in my bathroom, simultaneously s******g myself and vomiting. Only saving grace is that it didn’t start on the plane.

Person sitting on a toilet using a smartphone, capturing a worst-experience during a long flight.

Food poisoning. Turns out, if you are small enough, you actually CAN lie in the fetal position on an airplane lavatory floor. And if you are sick enough, you really won’t care that you are lying in the pee of dozens of strangers. Good times.

Person feeling unwell in a bathroom, representing the worst experience on a long flight.

A kidney stone decided to pass on my flight from Seattle to Tokyo. IYKYK.

Person clutching stomach in discomfort, representing worst experience on a long flight.

I was visiting a friend on the east coast and took the 12-hour direct flight from Atlanta back to Honolulu. I sat next to this old guy that had a bad cold or some other sickness. He spent the entire flight coughing, and spitting his loogies into a gallon ziplock bag that he kept on his lap. By the time we landed, the entire bag was basically overflowing with his saliva with green phlegm floating around.

Person covering mouth with hand, experiencing discomfort on a long flight.

I started the live action DragonBall Z movie on the in flight entertainment screen. It malfunctioned and I couldn’t get it to turn off.

A person with disheveled hair and a serious expression stands in a desert landscape.

It was 10+ years ago when I was 20. I had an overnight flight and chatted briefly with the guy next to me before I fell asleep. When I woke up, he had his hand on my thigh. He had a blanket over him but was definitely rubbing himself with his other hand. The plane was dark, and most people were asleep. He didn’t notice I woke up, so I closed my eyes and made a movement to turn my legs to the other side. He shot his hand away. I pretended to sleep another hour (but I didn’t obviously). He luckily didn’t touch me again, but when I “woke” up later (when I heard other people awake), he asked me if I was asleep the whole time. I said “yea I really knocked out.” I said I needed to go to the bathroom, meaning I needed him to get up. He asked me if I wanted him to come with me. I laughed and acted like I didn’t know what he was talking about. Gross and uncomfortable and couldn’t wait to get off that plane. I stopped chatting with plane neighbors after that.

Two people in casual outfits with a hand resting on a knee, capturing an intimate moment during a long flight.

I was 30 weeks pregnant, traveling across country (WA to FL) to see my grandparents with my 20 month old toddler, without my husband 😅 flight was as fine as fine can be with a busy toddler. Until about 4 hours in, when they said there was a bad storm in Tampa and we’d have to circle around until it passed. Fast forward to circling, they say we’re running low on gas and need to go to Orlando to fill up. Well, all the other planes from Tampa did too! We waited for another hour to get gas, the. another hour to fill up… all the while we weren’t allowed off the plane. They ran out of drinks and food. It was miserable. We finally got into Tampa 9.5 hours after we left Seattle. I silently cried as much as my toddler did, to be honest. It was brutal.

Parent of child who screamed whole flight. Believe me. Nobody wanted to open the door more than the parents.

Crying baby on a couch between two toys, emphasizing a worst experience similar to a long flight discomfort.

“Our brain, of course, understands that this is an absolutely ordinary situation, but the body is not only the brain. In addition, we subconsciously understand that one way or another, we are risking our lives and health while being in the air - and all this creates certain negative expectations in us. Therefore, some reactions of the body can also be negative.”

Going to France overnight from Chicago a guy kept his light on and talked non stop to the stewardess. Then the idiot got in and out of his seat 100 times to rummage through the loudest bag on the planet. He used chip bag material or something to stir his clothes.At the airport he ran off the plane. Apparently he was some kind of safety speaker for the airline. I hate him.Edit. I forgot to mention he stood on the armrest when he was getting into his bag. He literally stirred the bag until he found what he wanted. I have a pic of him at the airport. We called him master splinter because he was wearing a robe and sweatpants.

Man experiencing discomfort in an airplane seat during a long flight.

Interior of a crowded airplane during a long flight experience.

Just this month:YYZ to HKG - middle seat next to an insane old woman. She stared at me most of the flight. Also greeted me with a bow and Ni Hao! when I said hello to her (she’s white, I’m east Asian). While the plane was getting ready to take off, she told me to get off my phone or it’ll be my fault if we end up in the ocean (my phone was already on airplane mode as I explained to her). She then got up from her seat while the plane was ascending. After dinner service, she proceeded to scream at everyone to go to sleep. She got up and started turning people’s monitors off and yelling at children to sleep. She also made questionable racial remarks the entirety of the flight.HKG to YYZ - Seemingly half the flight had a disgusting cough, no masks on these people, just open mouth coughing the entire flight. I’m now down with a bacterial infection (with a cough worse than bronchitis) despite wearing a mask during the whole flight. Go figure.

Woman in pink shirt walking through airport corridor with suitcase, possibly after a long flight experience.

“In addition, a long stay in aconfined spacewith several dozen or hundreds of other people, absolutely without any opportunity to be alone or leave this space, also contributes to our mood. Therefore, even if we perceived some situation quite calmly and patiently, being on land, then several miles above sea level everything is perceived completely differently,” Irina Matveeva summarizes.

15ish hours AUH - YYZ. An old woman seated in the row behind me was looking quite rough from the start of the flight and was making strange gurgling noises on and off for a few hours. About 9 hours in, a bunch of FAs gather around and next thing I know, they’ve laid her out in the aisle next to me and were calling for a doctor.They couldn’t revive her and she died. The plane was packed so they left her there, covered in a sheet for the remainder of the flight. Right next to my seat.

Flight attendant in a crowded airplane cabin during a long flight.

Doha to LA, so 16 hours, family behind me included a developmentally challenged teen. Dad had to change her diaper in the seat multiple times over the flight, banging into my seat constantly while doing so, so I could never just fall asleep, and of course I really couldn’t say or do anything because…it’s gotta be hell for them.

Passengers seated closely on a dimly lit airplane, headphones on, illustrating a worst experience on a long flight.

However, no matter how reasonable the expert explanations may seem, we still encounter unpleasant situations on airplanes, and we certainly cannot stop flying. After all, this makes theworldsmaller, more convenient and learnable for us. So various poor experiences from the flights are just a “necessary evil,” and all we can do here is just read these tales and maybe share our own experiences with other people.

The flight from Auckland to SFO was actually pretty chill, but here’s my chance to point out that because I used the opportunity to veg out for 13 hours, I ended up with a blood clot that required emergency surgery.So, remember to move around, stay hydrated, and consider compression socks and maybe an aspirin or two, would be my advice. I’d been backpacking in New Zealand for five weeks and was in my early 50s, so it’s not something that happens exclusively to people who already have one foot in the grave.

Two surgeons in a well-lit operating room, wearing masks and scrubs, focusing intently on a medical procedure.

Guy next to me smelled like s**t the whole time for 8 hr flight.

Passenger reading on a long flight, experiencing discomfort in an airplane seat, with dim lighting.

Not me but the guy next to me. I passed the fk out like two minutes into my flight between Singapore and Tokyo. I woke up with my head resting on his shoulder. I profusely apologized to him and he profusely apologized to me. I tried to buy him a beer but he noped the fk out first chance he got. Sorry little Japanese dude!

Two women leaning on each other, eyes closed, reflecting the fatigue of the worst experience on a long flight.

Man holding his head, expressing stress and fatigue from a difficult long flight experience.

Person in handcuffs being detained.

Approx flight times. 6 hours from NYC to LA. Then 12 hours from LA to Sydney. I started to feel sick on the way to the airport. By the time I got on the plane I had a raging fever, deep muscle aches and was freezing cold. Every minute felt like an hour.

Man feeling unwell, wrapped in a blanket, checking a thermometer after worst experience on a long flight.

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I got food poisoning. I was flying from Kuwait to Toronto. As we were landing in Dubai for a lay over I started throwing up. I went straight to the pharmacy in the airport and bought anti diarrhea pills because s******g myself on a flight is my worst nightmare. With about 7 hours left on the flight to Toronto I found myself looking in the mirror in the bathroom giving myself a pep talk. You can do this. You’ll get through it. I had to get up at least 20 times to throw up.

Person experiencing discomfort, lying down and holding a tissue, illustrating a worst experience on a long flight.

I just came back from Japan. The chic next to me was literally trying to convert me to Christianity on a 14 hr flight.

Person in a plaid shirt with eyes closed, hands in prayer, reflecting on worst experience during a long flight.

Got the stomach flu half way between Paris and Detroit. Detroit was a layover. Still don’t know why they let me get on the next flight, but the flight attendants took care of me like a sick child from Detroit to home. I had called my parents in Detroit and asked them to meet me at security, because even at 25 years old, all I wanted was my mommy. (Really wish my direct flight the day before hadn’t been cancelled! My luggage stayed in Paris an extra week).

I got placed on the very last row of the plane. Fine. A girl comes sits down with her Chinese food - it was enough for at least 2 people. She whoofs it all down before the doors close. Fine. She then proceeds to flag the flight attendant and says “I get really bad air sickness can I get some extra puke bags.” She made it 30 minutes in. Not fine.

Many years ago, I was on an international flight that allowed smoking only in the last 2 rows for some reason. I was in 3rd to last row. To make things worse people kept rotating into the smoking seats so there were like 10 people always smoking.

Smoke drifting in a dimly lit airplane cabin, illustrating a worst experience on a long flight.

Flew right into a bad storm on the way to Taiwan from the USA. I was on a 747 and I’ve never seen the wings of a plane flex so much. Bins were falling open. People were crying, a flight attendant was injured. The engines were absolutely roaring, and we would just drop hundreds of feet at a time. The lighting was intense. I was just trying to pound beer for my nerves, and I could barely do that without spilling it everywhere.Most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced. This was about 15 years ago. I’ve made those flight once or twice a year since without incident.

Airplane flying through storm with lightning, symbolizing worst experience on a long flight.

YYZ TO LHR this lady and her husband. I have the far aisle seat and her husband has opposite side. One open seat. We had 4 row seats and there was 3 of us. She was on the heavier side and was spilling into my seat. There was literally an open seat this entire 8 hour fight. She decides to sit next to me for 7 and half hours. She was laying on me too like what… such an odd experience you’d rather sit next to a stranger instead of your significant other.

I got stuck next to the toilet on a flight to Kuwait to stage for the war in Iraq. Hundreds of Marines took dumps that night. Hundreds.

Airplane lavatory showing a cramped space, illustrating worst experience on long flight.

I had a migraine on a flight from Dubai to Melbourne. It lasted 10 hours.

Woman in blue shirt experiencing discomfort, holding her head, illustrating the worst experience on a long flight.

I was on a 16-hour flight, on my period, and had the middle seat. It was the absolute worst.

Person in discomfort, sitting with hands on stomach, possibly experiencing worst moment during a long flight.

My girlfriend threw up in both of our air sickness bags, one bag sprung a leak and I had to catch the vomit coming out as I ran to find a trash can. She then spent the rest of the flight retching in the bathroom and sitting in the flight attendant’s seat in the galley. This was an 11 hour flight from London to Los Angeles. It was bad for me, must have been a lot worse for her.

Found out my grandma died RIGHT before my 10 hour international flight took offInteresting note; my other grandma had died a week earlier. I exited the plane without grandparents.

Coffin in a dimly lit room.

Emirates A380 from LAX to Dubai. Was in the back, lower level economy section. Something busted loose and was leaking water from the ceiling onto the seats below. Overhead bins were filling up, flight crew was packing towels everywhere, and water (that we hoped was clean) just kept coming. Luckily, my seat was on the edge of the flood zone, so I was only indirectly effected, but it royally sucked for those who were in the splash zone.Full enough flight that they couldn’t move the people out of the splash zone. Maybe the first class passengers upstairs had to forego their showers on that flight?

Person in discomfort on a flight, holding their ear against a brick wall background.

Severe turbulence that caused a flight attendant to break her ankle.

Man with blue foot cast reading on a couch, reflecting a worst experience from a long flight.

8 hours of constant light and moderate turbulence from Keflavik to LAX. I’m deathly terrified of turbulence and was raw dogging the flight on a budget airline.Not sure if it counts but on a flight from Vegas to Boston a guy died on my flight. People were trying so hard to revive him even though he had been dead for a few hours. We had to divert temporarily to Buffalo which felt like a rollercoaster as we descended at a fast rate and quite the steep angle.

Airplane flying through cloudy sky, depicting worst experience during long flight.

I s**t my pants and the then the service dog sitting next to me wouldn’t leave me alone. No cap.

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