7 Things You Should Never Do on a Plane

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Flying means spending lots of time packed very closely among strangers—strangers who at 30,000 feet in the sky, have no escape from you. This means any bad behavior on your part can have an immediate and unpleasant effect on your fellow passengers.

Here are seven things you should never do on a plane—or you’ll face fines, getting kicked off the flight, or, at the very least, judgment from other flyers.

Drink Your Own Alcohol

Although it’s perfectly legal to bring your own alcohol aboard a plane (as long as it’s under 3.4 ounces or purchased in the airport after security), it’s actually against the law to consume it. Passengers can only drink alcoholic beverages served to them by flight attendants, who are trained to recognize signs of intoxication and cut off flyers who have had too much to drink. With alcohol-fueled in-flight incidents on the rise, many flight attendants are cracking down on passengers who attempt to serve themselves alcohol onboard. 

Penalties for drinking your own alcohol on a plane can be severe—the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) can and will pursue legal enforcement action against any unruly passengers. Flyers who ignore the rules can be fined up to $37,000 per violation in civil penalties.

Behave Inappropriately to Flight Attendants or Passengers

We hope we don’t have to remind you to behave kindly toward flight attendants and other passengers on your flight, but you should know that if you lose your temper on board, there’s a no-tolerance policy for aggressive or inappropriate behavior on planes.

The FAA has referred 43 unruly passenger cases to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for criminal prosecution review this year alone. “Dangerous passengers put everyone at risk—and the Biden-Harris Administration has been clear that those who disrupt flights will be held accountable,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Unruly travelers face stiff fines from the FAA and possible criminal prosecution too.”

Wear Something Inappropriate

It may surprise you to learn this, but airlines actually have dress codes, which can usually be found by reading the Conditions of Carriage. For example, American Airlines’ dress code specifies, “Dress appropriately; bare feet or offensive clothing aren’t allowed.”

Plenty of people have learned this the hard way by being kicked off of a plane for wearing clothing that the airline deemed too revealing or otherwise inappropriate.

Introduce Strong Smells Into the Cabin

Those same Conditions of Carriage that define what you shouldn’t wear on a plane also have an important note about odor. American Airlines’ specifies, “Be respectful that your odor isn’t offensive (unless it’s caused by a disability or illness),” and many other airlines have the same clause. 

In addition to making sure that your personal odor isn’t offensive, be respectful when choosing what food to bring on a plane (maybe leave the tuna fish at the gate) and what activities to engage in—now is not the time to paint your nails, and a seatback tray table is not a diaper-changing area. 

Joke About Threats

You might think it’s obvious that you’re joking if you make a sarcastic comment about having a weapon with you, but flight attendants have to take your remarks very seriously. For example, on an Air Canada flight, a passenger was asked about her bag, which did not entirely fit in the overhead bin. The passenger joked, “There’s a bomb in it”, which then triggered a flight delay of over two hours and a closure of the entire terminal while a bomb squad searched the premises. 

Keep any comments about weapons, fights, or anything else offensive to yourself aboard a plane.

Attempt to Vape or Smoke

Smoke from e-cigarettes might seem less noticeable than regular cigarettes, but it can still set off the fire alarms on planes, causing a flight to be diverted out of safety concerns. Or worse, cause an actual fire on the plane, like this malfunctioning e-cigarette did on an American Airlines flight. All forms of smoking, including e-cigarettes, are banned on planes. 

Passengers who attempt to sneak a smoke can face fines of up to $4,000, be removed from the plane, and/or be arrested.

Listen to Your Devices Without Headphones

We’ve all been there—you board a long flight only to discover that your headphones are dead. Unfortunately, that doesn’t give you the right to listen to your music, stream shows, or play video games with the volume on. The other passengers in your row didn’t sign up for your DJ set, so please keep your entertainment to yourself. 

Parents, this also applies to kids’ devices—we know you need to keep them entertained, but a child-size pair of headphones is a necessity in a shared space.

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