Last week, right at the start of this year’s holiday season, a 30-year-old British tourist who was drunk tried to kiss a male flight attendant on a plane. He spent a week in Mallorca, probably thinking there would be no consequences, and was then arrested on his way back through Palma airport. In February, Jet2 banned two passengers for life after a fight broke out on a flight from Turkey to Manchester. And last week, British Airways had to cancel a flight back from Barbados because some of the crew were still too drunk from the hotel bar to work. These incidents are connected, and it’s not just what 27-year-old flight attendant Thomas says: “Well, drunk Brits – you know how it goes.”
The term “air rage” was first used in the 1990s, but the behavior it describes has skyrocketed since COVID-19. In 2021, the number of reported incidents in the US was higher than in the previous three decades combined. A new type of problem had appeared: not following mask rules.
One of the main issues is passengers not sitting down when they’re told to. The UK doesn’t track the number of incidents, only the number of prosecutions. But the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warns that this isn’t a good measure, because of gaps in legal authority. Something that’s illegal in the airline’s home country – like racist abuse – might not be illegal where the plane lands, and people arrested on arrival are often released without charges. Last month, though, the UK government was in talks with the industry about permanently banning abusive passengers from all airlines. Right now, an airline can ban someone for life, but it can’t share your data with other airlines, so difficult passengers can still book flights elsewhere.
It’s very rare that anyone, especially women or those perceived as female, hasn’t been harassed. Unite, the union that represents most cabin crew and has 30,000 female members in the sector, found last year that 34% of women had been sexually assaulted at work (including ground staff). 67% had experienced unwanted flirting, gestures, or sexual comments. 65% had heard sexually offensive jokes. 55% had been touched inappropriately. And 40% had been shown or shared pornographic images by a manager, colleague, or third party, like a passenger. This is serious for the industry, especially because from this October, new rules about third-party harassment will take effect. So the common response from management – brushing off passenger behavior because they’ll never see them again – simply won’t be acceptable anymore.
Drink isn’t the only factor, but it plays a big role. Clara, 26, who has worked with low-cost airlines for over two years, explains: stag parties are worse than any other type of party, summer is worse than winter, and Ibiza is worse than Bruges. Overall, she says, “Anglo-Saxons love to drink. As soon as Brits get to the airport, they start drinking. It almost feels like they think of an aircraft as a place where people are supposed to consume things. They drink like they’ve never drunk before. Polish people drink quite a lot too, but they handle their alcohol really well.”
A huge number of people act like they’re in a club, she adds. “They’ll say things like, ‘You’re really cute,’ or ‘I’ve never seen such a beautiful flight attendant.’ They’ll offer you a drink, ask for your Instagram.” Social media has opened up new ways for intrusive behavior. Thomas has a colleague who was tracked down on Instagram by a guy who saw her name badge. “My job attracts sexual harassment, and I’m not sure I’d fully call what I’ve experienced assault, but it’s very rare that anyone, especially women or those perceived as female, hasn’t been harassed.””Absolutely,” says Emma, who has worked for a full-service carrier—a premium airline—for over a decade.
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‘Anglo-Saxons love to drink,’ say flight attendants. Photograph: Posed by models; AVI stock/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Employees, both men and women, report constant harassment on their way to and from work, just because they’re wearing the uniform. “I always wore a fleece over my clothes and changed into trainers—it’s unthinkable to walk around in uniform—and all my colleagues say the same thing,” says Clara. She adds that the attention isn’t always sexual; it can be staring or asking silly questions. One response to the Unite questionnaire about the extent of sexual harassment noted that it came “mainly from pilots, passengers or [while] commuting to work.” When you step back for a moment, that means “basically everyone.”
Thomas notes that, aside from actual sexual behavior, “passengers’ attitudes towards the cabin crew change a lot depending on your sex.” It’s almost as if some primitive, male-supremacist mindset kicks in at high altitude, with passengers refusing to accept female staff’s authority. “I’ve seen it several times—tensions during boarding, and strangely enough, as soon as I show up, things calm down. Let’s say that when you have the kind of build society expects from a man, and you walk over frowning a little, that alone is often enough to solve the situation.”
That strange atmosphere—an inescapable, claustrophobic metal tube where half the people act like it’s 3am in a nightclub, a fifth are sober and working, and the rest are either ignoring it or causing trouble—can mean bad behavior extends to colleagues too. Clara had a colleague who would say “You’re going to be my future wife” to all the women. “Every time he’d grab me by the arm, I’d look at him and say, ‘Patrick, we don’t really touch each other between colleagues.’ The time that really stuck with me, we were near the toilets. I saw him come out, moving his tongue to mimic cunnilingus. It was so surreal.” She didn’t file a complaint; cabin crew across the industry, from the cheapest airlines to British Airways, report that when they’re sexually harassed or assaulted by colleagues, managers do nothing.
Things can get so tense between crew members that they assault each other while still in the air. Sergei, 27, has worked for a budget airline for four years while training to be a pilot. He was recently called back to a flight because, “I needed to separate the number one [cabin manager] and number two [deputy] on the flight; they were fighting each other, biting and scratching, so I had to keep them at opposite ends of the plane.”
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Employees, both men and women, report harassment—just because they wear a uniform. Photograph: Posed by models; Narongrit Sritana/Getty Images
There was a period of stability around smoking, when everyone knew they couldn’t and didn’t push it—though Sergei had one passenger claim to have a doctor’s certificate saying he needed to smoke. “I said, ‘OK, where is it?’ And there was no certificate.” Then vaping arrived. It’s impossible to overstate how many people think you can vape in a plane toilet without setting off the smoke alarm. Passengers are constantly arrested on arrival for being caught vaping. Sergei decides whether to call the police based on whether people admit it or not. “If they do, I let it go; they’re human, I’m human. But one man set off the smoke alarm in the toilet, so I went to investigate and he had the vape in his hand, but denied it. I said, ‘Well, how did you manage to set off the alarm?’ and his girlfriend said, ‘By farting.'” The couple were still screaming abuse at Sergei onAs the guy was being arrested on the ground. Otherwise, the main issue isn’t about refusing to sit down when told—it’s that things get heated largely because of money: if you fall during takeoff, landing, or turbulence, the airline is responsible for your likely injury. “So we have to tell them to sit down,” Sergei says, “and we need to be firm. It can create an atmosphere like the military.”
And how often are you told you can’t use the bathroom when you need to? “I was torn one time,” Clara says. “A child needed the toilet, and the father got so angry he told his son to pee into a bottle. But when they got off the plane, he threw the bottle of urine at my colleagues. He just tossed it at them like, ‘Here, you deal with it,’ the way you’d throw something to a dog.” Another guy got so furious he urinated on the cabin door.
Since we’re talking about money, another factor is the steady decline in working conditions. Much of this comes from constant efforts to cut costs, which have gotten worse with recent fuel price increases. Some airlines now aim for a 25-minute turnaround between landing and taking off again—that’s not even enough time to clean the plane, even if flight attendants were paid to do it, which in many cases they aren’t. The things cabin crew have seen—dirty diapers, feces smeared on toilet walls, chips everywhere, and all that urine from protests—make Thomas’s otherwise pretty bleak conclusion probably the right one: “When you’re really exposed to every part of the population, you see that there are some really good people, but there are also completely filthy slobs.”
[Image: ‘It’s not something you could do your whole life.’ Photograph: nuttapong/Getty Images]
The job is tougher than many might realize, both physically and emotionally. “The jet lag, the very early starts, the very late finishes, and the aircraft’s cabin pressurization all take a toll on your body,” Clara says. “When you do four takeoffs and four landings in the same day, it’s exhausting. It’s not really something you could do for your whole life.”
Thomas says: “When you spend eight to 12 hours shut inside a metal tube in the sky, it’s not like being in an office with a colleague you don’t like. You can’t just step outside for a smoke.” And the market steps in again to make things a bit worse (mostly on budget airlines): some crew get commission on in-flight sales, so they start clashing when a senior worker assigns someone else to sell bottled water so they can sell the Bloody Marys themselves. Clara has seen a cabin manager “so busy selling perfume that the pilots had to perform a go-around (when an aircraft aborts its landing and goes back up). That costs the airline thousands. Applying full power and climbing away again burns a huge amount of fuel. On top of that, you’re paying for your parking spot at the airport longer. Commission honestly makes people stupid.”
So the rise in air rage feels less surprising the closer you look: on any given flight, some people are at their breaking point. Some because they’re on their tenth drink; others because they’re aware of how high the stakes are, which you sometimes forget until someone’s head gets sucked out of an aircraft window (which happened last weekend). The real puzzle is why there isn’t more air rage in the other direction—no, not Bristol to Krakow—but from crew to passengers. Additional reporting by Ethel Pemberton-Girard.
*Some names have been changed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs based on the quote Flight attendants share their secret lives British passengers always drink as if theyve never had a drink before
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 Is it true that British passengers drink a lot on planes
Yes many flight attendants report that British travelers tend to drink heavily during flights often ordering multiple alcoholic drinks in quick succession
2 Why do flight attendants say British passengers drink as if theyve never had a drink before
Its a colorful way of saying that British passengers often drink very quickly and enthusiastically sometimes more than other nationalities as if they are trying to make up for lost time
3 Is this a problem for flight attendants
Yes it can be Passengers who drink too much can become loud disruptive or even aggressive which makes the flight attendants job harder and can be unsafe
4 Do other nationalities drink a lot too
Yes but flight attendants often note that British passengers stand out for their speed and volume of consumption especially on shorthaul flights to holiday destinations
5 Do flight attendants try to stop British passengers from drinking
They can refuse service if a passenger appears intoxicated or disruptive However they often try to pace service by not bringing drinks all at once
Advanced Insider Questions
6 Is this behavior specific to British passengers or is it a stereotype
Its a common observation shared by many crew members but its a generalization Not all British passengers drink heavily but the pattern is noticeable enough to become a known secret in the industry
7 Whats the main reason British passengers drink so much on planes
Many flight attendants believe its a combination of holiday mode cheaper airportplane alcohol compared to UK pubs and a cultural tendency to drink to relax or celebrate
8 How do flight attendants handle a passenger who is already drunk before boarding
They can deny boarding or request that the passenger be removed by ground staff if they are visibly intoxicated or aggressive The captain has the final say
9 Whats the worst thing that can happen if a passenger drinks too much
A passenger can become verbally or physically abusive require medical attention or cause a diversion of the flight
