Once a glamorous affair, air travel for everyone but the elite is now just a few steps away from hell. You’re treated like cattle, have to submit to TSA officers’ wishes, and then there’s the cramped seating to look forward to. It’s not surprising, then, that air rage is on therisein the U.S.
For one teen, her flight looked like it was headed for trouble after the kid behind her wouldn’t stop kicking her seat. The kid’s parents weren’t doing anything about it, so the teen’s dad took matters into his own hands.
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Modern air travel isn’t great, but this unruly kid was determined to make it even worse
Image credits:Anna Gru / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
He wouldn’t stop kicking the seat of the teen in front of him, and his parents were doing nothing to stop him
Image credits:Oleksandr P / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The teen let her dad know, and he politely asked the kid to quit his kicking and behave
Image credits:cottonbro studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits:insertfunnyname06
The kid’s parents tried to kick up a fuss, but the flight attendant sided with the dad, forcing the parents to finally discipline their kid
She let her dad know, and he politely asked theobnoxiouskid to stop. The kid stopped for a few seconds but then started again, forcing the teen’s dad to ask the kid to quit it more firmly, but the kicking continued. That’s when thedadhad the smartideaof reclining his seat as far back as it would go, straight into the kid’s mother’s lap.
The parents immediately asked the dad to put his seat back up, even calling the flight attendant over tocomplain. The flight attendant asked the dad whether he’d like to remain reclined, to which he replied in the affirmative.
After the kid’s parents figured out what the issue was, they finally got the kid to stop, but the teen’s dad kept his seat reclined for another hour, just to teach them all a lesson. According to OP, they had to endure glares from the family for the rest of the flight, but that didn’t bother them—revenge had been served.
In herarticlefor Vox, Aditi Shrikant writes that, according to the International Air Transport Association, from 2007 to 2016, there were 58,000 unruly passenger incidents reported.
And while somesourcessay air rage incidents have increased, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, the prevalence has decreased steadily since 2012 (as of October 1, there have only been 77; in 2012, there were 183).
Image credits:Jeffry Surianto / Pexels (not the actual photo)
So, what is it about flying that leads to unruly behavior? Well, air travel is stressful even under the most ideal circumstances, and a large part of that comes from having to give up control, which happens long before you even reach the plane seat.
Sally Augustinof Design With Science, a company that offers consultations on how to build spaces with positive psychological outcomes, says the whole concept of airplanes is awful from a psychological perspective.
“We’re in a tube where we can’t leave and where all sorts of stressful things happen to us, so it’s not surprising with all the mental energy that is diverted to dealing with that stress, we snap at each other,” says Augustin.
In herarticleforPsychology Today, Wendy L. Patrick writes that research suggests air rage may be related to physical and situational inequality.
Their research discovered that having a first-class cabin increased the incidents of air rage in economy class, and front boarding, which requires walking through the first-class cabin (as opposed to boarding from the middle of the plane), increases the risks of air rage in both economy and first class.
From what OP tells us in her story, her dad wasn’t exactly on the verge of air rage, but things could probably have gotten worse if the parents involved hadn’t told their kid to settle down and if the flight attendant hadn’t been so accommodating.
Bored Pandareached out to pilot and blogger Patrick Smith ofAsk The Pilotto get his take on air rage.
Smith had this to say, “Let’s face it, flying has a way of bringing out the worst in people. The lines, the noisy terminals, the delays… it can all be pretty unpleasant and stressful. Given the sheer number of people who fly — two million daily just in the U.S. — I’m surprised air rage incidents aren’t MORE common.”
Smith adds that, as the crowds and lines have grown, there’s also been a demographics shift.
“A generation or two ago, flying was very expensive, and fewer people could afford it. The experience had a more exclusive and dignified feel. Today, gangs of college kids and vacationing families swarm onto planes for dirt-cheap fares. Then we have alcohol. This is maybe the most significant factor. Historically, inebriation is a factor in more than 80 percent of air rage incidents,” says Smith.
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