The Audacity Of This Passenger's Stinky Plane Behavior Blew The Internet Away

Some airplane passengers really know how to make a stink. Among those unspoken airplane etiquette rules, you'd think that keeping your feet off another traveler's headrest would be an obvious one. But from the looks of it, some people just couldn't care less. In 2023, a user shared a photo on Reddit of a passenger propping up their feet on another passenger's headrest. They wrote, "Putting your smelly feet on the headrest during a flight. The air vent was blasting and [wafted] the scent through the plane."

In the comments section, many called out the passenger for their impolite manners. "Good Lord! How rude this person is," one user remarked. "Disgusting and seriously low end!" someone else emphasized. "Yeah I'm sure the woman in front of her is really enjoying that. Some people have no consideration," another user pointed out. On the other hand, several people suggested that a flight attendant could've easily stepped in and resolved the issue.

Of course, this particular incident is far from the only foot kerfuffle that's occurred during a flight. A fair share of annoyed passengers have actually tried some bold tactics to shoo unwelcome feet away. (Note: We do NOT recommend these hacks!)

In 2021, someone's reaction to a fellow airplane passenger's foot behavior went viral on TikTok. In the video, the user points the camera to the traveler's bare foot resting on their armrest. "What to do in this situation," the video text reads. The peeved passenger pours bottled water on the person's toes, prompting them to remove their foot from the armrest. Numerous TikTokers supported the user's response, with many jokingly encouraging the passenger to go a step further. "Hot coffee would have been better," one person wrote. "Should've asked [the] flight attendant for a cup of boiling water," someone else suggested.

Another TikTok video showed a plane passenger pulling up the armrest to remove a neighbor's foot. Many users praised the passenger's approach (and sense of humor) to stop the disruption. "Handled with perfect execution!" a user commented.

While placing your uncovered feet in another passenger's space is simply inconsiderate, there are other important reasons why you should avoid this behavior. For starters, you're minimizing protection from dirty, bacteria-ridden surfaces. The majority of large U.S. airlines also have strict policies about removing passengers who are barefoot. Additionally, exposed feet could be a major problem in the case of an in-flight emergency. An aviation expert told The Sun, "If you escape an aircraft, the floor could be very hot or cold, it might be covered in oil or on fire, or in a cornfield — you won't want to be barefoot."