Planning ahead for a flight can help ease the hassles of traveling. But if the universe decides to throw a curveball in the form of entitled people, you may be in for a stressful time regardless of the amount of preparation you’ve made. 

A woman experienced this headache at an airport when a family checked in 16 pieces of luggage, holding the airport queue for nearly an hour and ultimately delaying their departure. To make matters worse, the parents failed to take control of their young children mid-flight, causing more inconvenience to some onboard. 

The author shared her story with the Entitled People subreddit, highlighting the ongoing etiquette problem among plane passengers. 

The presence of entitled passengers can make traveling a stressful experience

Image credits: Oleksandr P / pexels (not the actual photo)

A family of six checked in 16 pieces of luggage, causing a delay in an airport queue

Image credits: choreograph / envato (not the actual photo)

Their inconsiderate behavior delayed the queue for nearly an hour and caused more inconvenience during the flight

Image credits: ray_of_f_sunshine

There has been a growing number of unruly passengers over recent years

The family in the story is part of a seemingly growing number of problematic passengers in recent years. In 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed 2,075 reports of unruly behavior at airports and during flights. These incidents resulted in $7.5 million worth of imposed fines. 

Another set of 2023 statistics by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) revealed the most common categorizations of such incidents, ranging from non-compliance to verbal abuse and intoxication. Cases of physical abuse also increased by 61% in 2021. 

Aviation security expert Jeff Price spoke with Business Insider and shared some possible reasons for travelers’ entitled behavior. The list included flight delays in which passengers were left in the dark about what was happening, the usual stressors like a lack of legroom, and “arbitrary rules invented by crew members.” 

Price also attributed unruly incidents to the passengers’ desire to gain leverage over something beyond their control. 

Some experts have concluded that passenger misconduct is the “new normal” after the pandemic. Price noticed a post-pandemic “social change” and observed how people are generally “more entitled” and “less polite” to crew members and fellow passengers during flights. 

Parents traveling with children should be more considerate towards their children and others around them

The parents could have saved everyone the hassle if they were more considerate towards everyone around them. For one, they could have timed their moves more efficiently by choosing to board last. 

As etiquette expert Jo Bryant pointed out in an article for The Telegraph, well-traveled parents always opt to board last because the long waiting game could cause discomfort for the kids. In the story’s case, the family could have also chosen to check in after everyone else, considering the amount of luggage they had on them. 

“Why make your children stand in a queue or sit on the plane for longer than necessary?” Bryant wrote. 

The parents committed another error by failing to monitor their children during the flight and expecting other passengers to babysit. As Bryant states, this applies to teenagers who sometimes lack enough self-awareness while left unsupervised during a flight. 

“Neither crew nor other passengers should be forced to help your children,” Bryant noted. 

As the author pointed out, the adults in the family ultimately lacked common decency to save a few hundred dollars on the car rental. They now join the many passengers who display unpleasant behavior on an airplane. 

What do you think, readers? How do you judge the parents’ actions?

Many commenters aired their frustration and annoyance towards the family, particularly the military father

While some shared similar experiences

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