People Share Their Worst Airline Travel Stories

Have you ever boarded a flight brimming with excitement for a long-awaited vacation, only to find yourself navigating through a turbulence of unexpected chaos? Air travel, envisioned as the gateway to cherished destinations, can sometimes spiral into an experience far from what we anticipate.

A woman holding a man's hand in an airplane | Source: Shutterstock

Imagine being strapped into your seat on a flight to your dream vacation, where you plan to unwind from months of working hard, only to find yourself in an unexpected situation. Air travel can sometimes become a nightmare when the circumstances aren't right.

Some Redditors bravely shared tales of flights gone awry. From enduring the trials of annoying seatmates to navigating unforeseen incidents 30,000 feet above ground, people have seen the worst during their flights. Scroll down to read their awful first-hand experiences.

Comments have been edited for clarity and grammar.

1. The Scary Experience

Passengers in an airplane | Source: Shutterstock

u/baltimoron21211: I was flying from Nassau to Havana. The turbulence was so bad that the flight attendant was kneeling, crying, and praying.

White smoke came out of the vents. Besides, all the writing on the plane was in Russian, and I couldn't understand the buttons and other things.

2. The Runway

An airplane taking off | Source: Pexels

u/Livia85: I experienced a go-around. The plane was about to touch down when suddenly we were pressed into our seats while the aircraft rose again at a 45° angle. It turned out the plane that landed previously hadn't cleared the runway. It was pretty scary.

3. The Worst Case of Food Poisoning

An airplane toilet | Source: Shutterstock

u/Raaaaaaaaaandy: We were coming home from Thailand to Seattle. It is a 16-hour flight. I had the worst case of food poisoning in history.

I spent the majority of that flight stuck in the airline bathroom. When I wasn't in the bathroom, I was in my seat, curled up in a ball, shaking and sweating. I was so sick, almost at the point of hallucinating.

4. My Grandmother Had Strange Things in Her Bag

An older woman sitting on a chair | Source: Pexels

u/Brewnonono: I was at the airport, in another country, with my grandparents, who were moving to the US.

We got to security, and the person there pulled a long BBQ fork out of my grandmother's suitcase. I thought, "That could be used as a weapon."

Then, the agent returns to Grandma's bag and pulls out a meat cleaver. I'm thinking we're going to be imprisoned in this foreign land (which is NOT known for its human rights and does NOT have an American embassy).

My unrepentant granny is explaining, "It's a quality cleaver! They don't make it like this anymore. Why would I leave it behind?!"

Surprisingly, the friendly agent kindly explained to Granny that she would have to leave both objects behind, then sent us on our merry way. Granny was pissed.

5. Our Daughters Went Missing

A little girl at an airport | Source: Pexels

u/AtlantaBunch: Our worst airline experience was when the airline lost our two daughters for hours, even though we had paid extra for stewardess escorts. We were freaking out, and they didn't even bother to apologize.

6. Ice Chips Helped Me

A man wiping his nose | Source: Pexels

u/[deleted]: About six years ago, I was sitting on the plane and suddenly felt a tickle in my throat. It just wouldn't go away. I'd cough and cough and cough, nothing.

The only thing that helped was ice chips, but I couldn't stop it even then. It was miserable. I woke up in the middle of the night with two swollen eyes, swollen lips, hives all over my body, hot joints, and a tight chest.

I was having some severe allergic reaction to something. This means that my throat was closing on the plane, and I just didn't know it.

Of course, the ice chips helped because they kept the swelling down. What's weird is that it has never happened before or since then, and I'm not allergic to anything I know of.

7. I Was the Kid Who Wanted Ice Cream

Close-up of ice cream in a glass | Source: Pexels

u/phoniz: I was flying from Australia on a Malaysian airline. They were serving ice cream, so I (as a 12-year-old) naturally wanted one.

It was so cold my lips got stuck to it. I had to wait for 10 minutes for it to warm up, and I still lost some skin on my lips.

8. We Met Our Neighbor on the Flight

People sitting in an airplane | Source: Pexels

u/QuigandJas: We ran into one of our neighbors on a flight home. His seat was next to an old lady who used him as a pillow, ordered a Coke, spilled it on him, then got coffee and spilled it again!

The lady ordered another coffee and spilled it on him again! He flipped out and was moved into our seat row.

9. The 'Nice' Flight Attendant

Flight attendants serving food | Source: Pexels

u/PandaObsession: I was 15 or 16, flying across the country for the first time by myself. My mom had wanted to treat me, so she splurged and bought me a ticket with extra legroom.

Because of that, I got on the front seats with no storage room, so the "nice" fight attendant put my backpack in the overhead compartment and said she would get it for me when we reached altitude.

When we hit the needed height, I asked for my backpack. I had brought my computer, some books, and some snacks with me.

She opened the overhead compartment, and another passenger tried to ask her a question while she was fumbling around to find my bag.

She ended up dropping my bag. It bounced off the shoulder of another passenger and then slammed into the floor. Then she picked it up and tossed it in my general direction.

I didn't know it until I got home some six hours later, but that fall had smashed the internal components of my computer. My computer's disk drive and fan had stopped working. Eventually, I had to buy a new computer because of the flight attendant.

10. The Captain's Unexpected Announcement

Airplane seats | Source: Shutterstock

u/XelaNiba: I was on a nighttime flight 15 years ago. Suddenly, the cabin lights turn on to full blast, and the captain makes an announcement.

"You may be smelling a noxious odor. We have an electrical fire on board and are unsure how quickly it might spread. We are being diverted to the nearest airport and will be executing an emergency landing in 15 minutes. Please pay attention to your flight attendants as they instruct you in the proper crash-landing procedure."

I would have thought there would be hysteria, but everyone became dead quiet. I had my 11-month-old and was advised to hold him in my arms. They asked me to assume the crash-landing procedure as best as possible to shield his body.

Everyone on that plane thought we were dead. I whispered to my baby, pointing out the window at the earth below and telling him how beautiful it was. I didn't want him to die scared.

After 10 minutes and no catastrophic failure, we all began to relax, thinking the fire was contained or spreading very slowly.

We all positioned ourselves for a crash landing—the tarmac was ablaze with the flashing lights of fire trucks, ambulances, and police vehicles, all in preparation for a worst-case scenario.

We landed smoothly & without incident, thank God. That was a really, really bad 15 minutes.

11. The Long Flight

Luggage on a trolley at an airport | Source: Pexels

u/scarletmanuka: We flew to Scotland from Australia, and the airline left our luggage behind at the stopover because they were running late.

We had no communication from the airline when we arrived, and they did not reimburse us at all. They then delivered our luggage to another passenger, and we finally got it delivered six days into a 15-day trip.

Then we flew home and discovered they did the same thing. It took three days to get it back the second time.

That debacle, plus delays, waiting on the tarmac for hours, and the complete lack of customer service, has led me to vow never to fly with them again.

12. The big dude

A sad woman in an airplane | Source: Shutterstock

u/Deleted user: I was flying with the WORST passenger ever! But karma, in the form of a fragile old man, hit him back.So, this big drunk dude starts yelling at this young mom with two kids cause he couldn't fit his luggage.

Then he starts screaming at her kids for crying 'too loud'. NO ONE stood up for this poor mom, no one but this frail old man. Old Man: "Leave her alone, or you'll have trouble."

Dude: "HAHA, what are you gonna do about it??" Then, everyone's jaws just dropped. In a minute, the dude, with a red face, is on his knees, apologizing to the mom and the old man.

Nobody would've guessed, but this 'fragile' old man was actually the owner of this airline and a former police officer. When the big dude found out, his face turned pale. The "frail" old man twisted his arms and said, "Either you apologize right now or I'll throw you out of the plane!" Karma in action!

13. No Place to Land

View from an airplane window | Source: Pexels

u/Thrownaway_4_2_day: We flew from Ohio to Charlotte, NC. During the flight, a hurricane unexpectedly turned hard inland and made landfall.

As a result, all air traffic was not permitted to land, was backed up to the maximum, and flights were forced to circle the airport until they could get on the ground.

Unfortunately, we arrived late, and the air traffic at 30,000 feet was completely clogged. Instead of landing, we were forced to circle the airport below those flights, which was in the heart of the hurricane.

We flew in circles for an hour and ten minutes, with nonstop lightning on both sides of the plane and turbulence that would make a 70-year-old sailor feel scared.

The turbulence threw everything all over the plane. People were crying, and there was terror. When we finally landed, no one would exit the aircraft.

The applause lasted until the captain came out and spontaneously began weeping. He told us he was so sorry that we all had to experience that.

He said he was happy that he had the privilege of getting us safely back on solid ground and then hugged an older black lady who kissed him until we forgot about the hurricane and started to feel uncomfortable for him. This happened in 1994, but the trauma remains with me.

14. The Horrible Perfume

A child covering his nose with his hand | Source: Pexels

u/DudeAbides29: This was when I was 10-11 years old. I went on a nine-hour flight and had the middle seat.

Besides me, on the window seat, was an older woman wearing a horrendous-smelling perfume. It was the kind that gave you a headache in the first 10 minutes.

She went to the restroom and reapplied her perfume every couple of hours. The smell plus turbulence was enough for me to throw up during the flight.

The experience left me so scarred that I took motion sickness pills every flight for years, only to realize that I did not have motion sickness. It was just that older woman's horrible perfume.

15. The Missing Passenger

An airplane at an airport | Source: Pexels

u/SkippingMango7: Sitting in a hot and fully boarded plane somewhere in sunny Spain, the flight attendants are pacing up and down the aisle, counting and talking to each other.

After a few minutes, they announced they were one passenger short, and, as a result, there was an extra checked bag.

The solution is to take all the checked baggage out of the plane, lay it on the runway, and have everyone find their bag. The engines are off, so there is no AC in a jam-packed plane in sunny Spain.

The guys unloading the plane are so slow it is hard to fathom, and people are getting edgy. Two hours later, the plane is still not empty but almost.

One of the flight attendants walks through the cabin, double-checking some numbers. With a slightly worried face, she talks to a colleague.

It turned out they counted wrong. They decided to load the plane again—two more hours in a hot, no-AC, jam-packed plane. The company went out of business shortly after.

16. Where Are the Bags?

Silhouette of a man holding a bag | Source: Pexels

u/RationalWank: This happened to a friend of mine. The airline canceled his flight without refund or rebooking, asking them to go home. The banger was when they still lost his checked bag despite the flight never having taken off.

17. They Said Nothing

Baggage sign at an airport | Source: Pexels

u/kheltar: I flew to France for a snow week. The airline offloaded our bags (and about 50 others) due to aircraft weight AND SAID NOTHING!

We waited ages at the other end, missed our transfer, and it took three days into a seven-day trip to get our bags.

18. Free Potato Chips

A woman looking outside an airplane window | Source: Pexels

u/26pointMax: It was a 12+ hour flight, and I was in the middle aisle on a 747. The seat recliner was broken, the guy next to me took his shoes off, and his feet stank.

Meanwhile, the woman to my left spilled orange juice on me, and the headphone plug for the in-flight entertainment was broken. I did get extra potato chips as compensation for the seat problem, though.

19. He Brought His Own Meal

Food served in an airplane | Source: Shutterstock

u/Adrienne27: I took a flight back to JFK from Costa Rica, which had done a prior pick-up in Ecuador. I got seated next to a bulky guy who had been on the flight since the beginning.

When mealtime came, he refused the airline food and instead pulled out an aluminum foil package that contained a roasted guinea pig. I nearly lost my airline lunch when he pulled off the tiny drumsticks and chewed on them.

20. The Worst Turbulence

An airplane in the sky | Source: Pexels

u/humanitymonster: I was on a small commuter plane (think about 20 seats, single file the length of the cabin), and we hit a wind rotor (I guess that's what it's called) off the mountains.

It felt like a giant baby grabbed the plane and shook it like a rattle. Hands down, it was the worst turbulence I've ever felt. Other than that, my trips have been relatively uneventful.

21. The Woman and Her Kids

A child looking outside an airplane window | Source: Shutterstock

u/SparkEE_JOE: I was on a 6-hour flight to the West Coast. The plane was very hot inside, and two small kids were behind me, screaming and kicking the whole time.

The row was three seats wide. My row was three sweaty, fat people (myself included). I had the window seat. Behind us was the mother on the aisle seat with a toddler in her lap.

The toddler would screech every few minutes and run up and down the aisle. The two older kids behind me spent most of the flight climbing on my seat and playing on the floor, hitting my seat. Their names were super basic names, like Jayden and Brayden. I learned through the nonstop arguing and screeching fights.

The mom did nothing the entire flight, even with requests by the staff. She only said, "This is why Daddy doesn't want us to visit."

22. Cream Cheese on a Bagel

A woman holding a bagel with cream cheese | Source: Pexels

u/RiddickBoweJangles: This likely isn't as bad as others, but still, when I think about it, I dry-heave. The plane hadn't taken off yet, and this rotund woman was on the other side of the aisle from me, putting cream cheese on her bagel. With her hand.

Why bother asking cutlery? Why bother just dipping the bagel in the cream cheese? Just take your finger and slather the cream cheese around. It was absolutely revolting!

23. It Was a Mess

A flight attendant | Source: Pexels

u/schrader-nick: I was headed to the Philippines on a two-week vacation with my cousin. We were in San Francisco waiting to board our plane, which got delayed four hours. That's just the start.

Finally, after boarding, they had over-seated the plane, and no one was volunteering. As a result, they started to force people off the plane, and they chose me. After arguing and negotiating, my cousin and I stayed on the plane.

After taking off and eating our dinner on the plane, the lights turned off. As the flight attendant navigated the cabin and handed out drinks, she tripped over someone's foot in the aisle and spilled beer over me and my cousin.

After getting cleaned up and wearing clean clothes, almost everyone was asleep as we were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It was roughly 3 a.m. at this point.

I can never sleep on planes, so I was wide awake. I decided to brush my teeth and use the restroom. Being the multitasker I am, I used the toilet while brushing my teeth.

Then, everything went south. The plane gave one small bump warning of turbulence, with no comment from the pilot. Out of nowhere, we hit dead air.

The plane dropped, and I mean dropped!! My body flew up and smashed the ceiling. Meanwhile, all I hear is people screaming in the cabin outside the door.

I was on the ceiling for five solid seconds that felt like five minutes. We finally hit good air and leveled out. I rush out of the bathroom to my seat and buckle in immediately.

The cabin was destroyed. People's food, drinks, and personal items were everywhere! The seats were soaked, including mine, and the ceiling had food stuck to it. People were still screaming and crying.

Then the pilot said the dead air was not on the radar and the rest of the flight would be smooth. And thank God it was.

The rest of the flight was peaceful. But the first half of the 10-hour flight was miserable. Thankfully, I always pack two pairs of clothes in my carry-on for international flights, so I had another clean pair to change into.

24. The Inspection

People standing in a queue at an airport | Source: Pexels

u/Farlander2821: My name sounds foreign. It's Indian and a pretty common name in India, but most people don't know that, so I very often get lumped in with "foreigners" in the negative sense.

Anyway, I was traveling with a massive group of primarily white Americans with very standard American names.

In Amsterdam, while waiting at the gate to get on our plane back to the US, another person in my group with an extremely common Middle Eastern name and I were called at the gate for a "random inspection."

This was outside of security or customs. It was literally at the gate about 20 minutes before boarding. The Dutch police were there and made us empty our bags in front of the crowd.

They kept asking us what everything was, where we got it, why we got it, etc. We weren't traveling to Amsterdam; it was just a layover, so we had already been traveling for a lot at this point and were very tired, and that whole experience was just generally demoralizing and felt insulting.

Of course, they found nothing on us, but it felt like they were trying to give us a hard time, and the choice of people for their "random" inspection was just unfair.

25. I Bought Two Seats Together

People sitting in an airport | Source: Pexels

u/Sumuran: I'm a bigger guy, so airline travel is hard. I usually buy two tickets, so I don't put anybody out.

On the last plane trip I've ever been on, this woman asked me to move seats so she could sit with her sister. I politely told her I didn't want to.

I bought two seats together so I wouldn't put anybody else. I even used that machine when I entered the airport and worked with the teller to ensure I had two seats together.

I'm not one of those fat people, but I'm much bigger than average, and I don't expect businesses to accommodate my choice of lifestyle.

She threw a fit, sat in her aisle seat, and talked loudly with her sister on the other end of the plane about how rude people were and how ridiculous it was that I was being stingy with my seats.

I even showed her my tickets to prove these were my seats. Luckily, the most beautiful flight attendant I've ever seen, Cheyenne, came up and asked her to refrain from disturbing passengers.

She moved her to another seat in the back with her sister so they could be hateful together. Cheyenne then sat next to me when she could, and we talked during the remaining trip to New Jersey.

She even brought me a Coke. This was a trip from Oklahoma to New Jersey, so I'm not sure if most people from New Jersey are crazy, but I'll never go back there again.

26. Grounded on the Tarmac

People sitting in an airplane | Source: Pexels

u/ovad67: I got grounded on the tarmac in Dallas because of incoming thunderstorms. It was so hot on that plane that I thought I would pass out.

I don't remember exactly how long it was, but it felt like hours. I was so stressed out until I could cool down a bit and questioned if I would ever get on an airplane again.

27. I Was Terrified

Close-up of an airplane propeller | Source: Pexels

u/notnotbuddy: One of my parents is from an unnamed country in South America. The family there had government and military ties.

When I was about ten years old, we were trying to fly to the remote state where our family is from. Commercial flights were all booked, but an aunt was able to pull some strings, and we got on a military flight.

We got to the airport and boarded a small two-engine plane. Our family of five was there with other military personnel and a small crew.

The 90-minute flight was uneventful. That is, until about 15 min from our destination, the engine on the right wing burst into flames.

As a result, the cabin was filled with smoke, and the mood deteriorated from cautious optimism through quiet unease to verbalized panic. The plane dipped a bit, but the pilot kept things in order.

It turns out these planes can easily fly with a single engine. The smoke was a bit of a concern, but the staff eventually explained that we were never in peril. Still, little kid me was terrified that day and sure I would die on a plane away from all my friends.

28. The Bug

A man holding an air sickness bag | Source: Shutterstock

u/Aussiebloke-91: I was flying home from Paris to Australia. I had caught a bug in Paris, but it only hit me in the last six hours of returning to Australia.

I had violent diarrhea and had to go back and forth to the toilet. I even projectile vomited on a flight attendant at one point when I didn't make it to the toilet in time.

29. I Paid More for an Emergency Seat

An airplane door | Source: Pexels

u/CyanManta: I paid extra for an emergency row seat on a seven-hour flight to London once. I got to my seat, but a life raft attached to the door took up all my knee space.

It was worse than having a regular seat; I had paid extra. Needless to say, I did not enjoy my flight. I was able to complain about it later and get the upgrade refunded. The experience was still the worst.

30. No One Expected That

Pilots flying an aircraft | Source: Pexels

u/[deleted]: I was on a small regional jet on a flight from Wausau, WI, to Chicago. As we approached Chicago, I was talking to my coworker in the seat across the aisle.

One moment, I was looking face-to-face at him, and then suddenly, I was looking down at him. Right after that, I was looking up at him.

We finally settled into a regular cruising pattern, but it was a scary "What just happened?" moment. We didn't come close to rolling over, but it felt that way.

When we arrived at O'Hare (where I considered kissing the tarmac), a fellow passenger suggested that we had somehow been caught in the wake of a larger jet. It sounded plausible but could have been more reassuring.

The best moment occurred after the pilot brought the plane back under control. The cabin was deadly silent, and the captain opened his microphone, cleared his throat, and said, "Sorry." He was a man of few words, I guess.

31. The Night Flight

An airplane wheel touching the ground | Source: Pexels

u/IDidReadTheSideBar: We were flying from Germany to New York on a night flight, and the flight couldn't have gone any better.

We were descending into JFK. The back wheels touched the ground, then the nose did, and everyone started clapping. 2.2 seconds later, we heard the engines go full throttle, and the plane took right off.

You could see the terror and panic on people's faces. I was with my cousin, who suffers from panic attacks as is, so this triggered it instantly.

The flight attendants didn't seem to have any idea either. I immediately thought the airplane was being hijacked.

We flew around in circles for 10 minutes before the pilot came on the PA and said, "Our apologies about that. We were landing on a take-off runway." I fly frequently and often think about what could have happened that day.

32. What's Wrong with This Man?

Silhouette of a man traveling in an airplane | Source: Pexels

u/margoooRobby: While going on my honeymoon, I sat next to a man who just acted like he hated me from the moment he saw me.

I couldn't figure out the issue. Maybe he had an unpleasant experience sitting next to white folks in the past. I could not understand why he hated me the moment he saw me.

I was a 22-year-old woman, small and timid, and I tried to make myself as small as possible because he was giving me the death glare.

He had a phone clipped to his belt at one point and couldn't find it. As a result, he started yelling, "Where's my phone!" He accused me of stealing it. The hostility was jarring.

I said, "I don't know. Are you sitting on it?" It was under him. I should have asked to move but was too timid, so it was an awkward flight. I was glad my husband was on the other side. We were both baffled.

33. The Aerophobic Passenger

A scared woman | Source: Pexels

u/obligatoryclevername: I sat next to someone who had a phobia of flying. They spent the flight in terror and described everything that could go wrong with the plane and what would happen to us. By the time I got off the flight, I was a nervous flier. Fear can be contagious.

34. Please Take a Shower before Flying!

A woman using her phone in an airplane | Source: Shutterstock

u/LiquidSummerHaze: I used to fly by myself a lot and enjoyed it. One flight I was on was a smaller plane, but I was lucky enough to score a window seat. Or so I thought I was lucky.

A few moments later, a very overweight guy (not shaming his weight, just pointing it out) entered and sat next to me. He took up more space than the seat size, which resulted in me having only half of my seat.

I was smooshed against the side of the plane for the entire flight. I'm petite but like my wiggle room just as much as the next guy.

That wasn't the worst part, though. He smelled SO bad. It was like the body odor people get when they don't shower for days.

I know the flight attendants felt terrible for me, but they could do nothing to help me escape as it was a fully booked flight.

Thankfully, the flight was only 2 hours, and I have never experienced this again, but I hope never to go through that again. Please take a shower before flying. Thanks.

35. It Was an Uncomfortable Flight

People in an airplane | Source: Pexels

u/-Words-Words-Words-: I was seated between two morbidly obese people on a fully booked flight once, and I have claustrophobia issues.

I'm pretty broad-shouldered, so I was literally wedged in. It was a two-hour flight of me silently freaking out and being the most uncomfortable I've ever been.

36. Pizza for Everyone

A person holding pizza boxes | Source: Pexels

u/Morgan_not_freemann: This one time, we were on a plane trip to Hawaii from Washington, and we had to make an emergency landing on a different island because something went wrong.

They didn't let us get out of the plane for some reason, and we were there for like eight hours, so we ran out of food, and the airlines ordered pizza delivered to the plane.

So, at this point, we have been on the plane for about 15 hours and are all eating pizza when the little girl in front of me throws up. That was the worst. We flew another 1.5 hours to land, and we were all tired.

37. That Smile Made Me Angry

Legs of people sitting together during a flight | Source: Shutterstock

u/Lady_Dinoasaurus: I got my window seat in a small plane for my one-hour flight and got comfortable. A short but built guy took the seat next to me and man-spread not only into my foot well but also into my chair, literally calf to calf, thigh to thigh with me.

I went to automatically flinch away from touching a STRANGER but realized I was way within my seat. If I moved over, he'd get like £40 of my costly seat. So, I didn't move. But then he didn't move either.

I am British, so I didn't say anything and just quietly seethed in my seat for an hour. When it was time to land, I saw the sky disappear, and the land took up the entire window before we turned to get in line at the airport.

So, I looked to the other side of the aisle to watch, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw he thought I was trying to look at him, and he SMILED!?!

It felt like I had been secretly enjoying him getting all up and cozy on MY SEAT on a Thursday afternoon business flight. I was SO MAD and continued to ignore him and seethe.

I met my husband at the gate and told him about this guy LOUDLY all the way to the parking pay station, culminating in a comprehensive and curse-filled conclusion on why he was a creepy person and why some people shouldn't be allowed on public transport.

I turned around, and he was paying for parking at the next pay point, looking red and determinedly not making eye contact.

38. The Kids Ruined My Experience

A boy playing with toys in an airplane | Source: Pexels

u/The_Moldy_Baguette: I flew from New Orleans to Boston a while ago. There was a six-hour delay, smelly passengers, and a toddler who kicked my seat until my back was bruised.

I told the child's mother, but she ignored it. Moreover, when the attendant said something, she put on her earbuds.

Recently, I flew from Dubai to Boston. There was a really spoiled child next to me with a father who couldn't control him.

The kid bit his sister, pulled on my classmate's hair (this was a college trip), and threw so many fits that a devout woman in full veil screamed, "Oh my (Christian) god!"

Also, my stomach was aching because I accidentally drank a shake with dairy in it before the flight. So that was a brutal 14-hour flight.

39. The Woman Had a Lot to Say

A young woman reading something during a flight | Source: Pexels

u/Velkyn01: I had a lady sitting behind and across the aisle from me and my girlfriend on a ten-hour flight.

We had already spent the whole weekend together, flying to the States for leave. Both of us were enjoying our time being alone but together. I read a book on my phone while she listened to music.

This lady leaned forward and tapped my shoulder, asking me to open her soda. I obliged. A minute later, she tapped again.

I politely turned around, and she said, "I think something is lost." Then she went into this long-winded spiel about how excited she would have been to be with her boyfriend. She would have cuddled, kissed, and talked.

I told her we had been together every second of the last 48 hours and were fine. She disagreed wholeheartedly. I disengaged, turned back, and got a page or two into my book. Tap, tap.

I turned around again, and she started bending my ear about "Today's youth" and how we're too busy to talk to each other. She segued into the life stories of her children. Every time I turned away, I got that tap tap again.

This went on for almost an hour. I couldn't get a damn word in at all. We moved from her family to the problems with our country.

Finally, it began escalating. You know, when someone starts trying to ease you into something, build you up with a few statements that everyone would agree with, then tie it into something crazy to try to get you to agree?

Yeah, that's where we were going. And it finally ended with, "It's the fault of the black people and Mexicans."

I finally told her I had had enough and wouldn't support that kind of talk. I told her I'd appreciate it if she kept that to herself. I was finally able to enjoy my flight in peace.

40. The Stinky Passenger

A woman pinching her nose with her fingers | Source: Shutterstock

u/gemstun: I've been in two emergency landings (one landing on foam in OAK between fire trucks because the tires disintegrated upon takeoff). However, they weren't as bad as the following gross situation.

I'm very tall and was in some tight seats, and an overweight and visibly sweaty man in a beater t-shirt and shorts sat next to me.

The sweat from his thighs and arms was soaking onto my clothing. He stunk so bad that I felt nauseated, and when he would continually raise his arms overhead, the smell became like that of a dead animal on a hot desert highway in August.

I kept my composure, but when those wretched pits became exposed to air, I couldn't take it and had to keep asking him not to do that. The near-crash landings were preferable to several hours absorbing Mr. Stinky Pits' sweat.

41. Rich dude

Plane | Getty Images

Deleted user: I only have a year to live, and my son made my big dream come true – flying business class. But right when I step on the plane, this rich dude comes at me.

He: 'Who let HER in business class? I'm shelling out big bucks to avoid flying with people like her!'I burst into tears. My dream was shattered. Then the police with handcuffs approach me.

Me: 'Officers, you don't need those for me, I'll just go.' Officer: 'No, ma'am, we're not here for you, we're for him," nodding towards the rude man. "He's been causing trouble on multiple flights."

As they escort him off the plane, the pilot's voice comes over the intercom, announcing, "Ladies and gentlemen, in honor of our special guest [calls my name], we're upgrading her flight experience even further."

As I settled back into my seat, feeling a mix of relief and joy, I couldn't help but smile at the unexpected turn of events. It was a moment of sweet karma and the beginning of a journey I would never forget.

42. The wrong seat

Plane | Shutterstock

Deleted user: When we're already up in the air and this lady walks up to me. She smirks and says, "I made a mistake and sat in the wrong seat. Give me yours." Me: "Sorry, I'm already settled here."

But she snaps back, "I said I made a mistake! Move it!" I stood my ground and refused to move. That's when she lost it. She grabbed my shoulder and started shouting, causing a scene that caught everyone's attention. Her voice was loud enough to prompt the flight crew to rush over.

They tried to calm her down, but she wouldn't listen and kept claiming the seat was hers.then, to my relief, several other passengers intervened. They stood up for me, firmly telling the woman that I was in my assigned seat and she needed to return to hers.

A woman looking outside an airplane window | Source: Pexels

The candid stories shared by Redditors remind us of the unpredictability woven into the fabric of our journeys. Despite the mishaps, these accounts serve as a testament to resilience and the shared camaraderie among travelers navigating the skies.

So, as you book your next flight and fasten the seatbelt before flying to your next destination, remember the stories of these people who had the worst air travel experience.

Things might go wrong on your flight, but these stories prove that every turbulence eventually finds its calm horizon. We would love to know if you have experienced something similar during your air travel.