AS FLIGHT attendants, looking after passengers on board our flights is our main priority. But sometimes, you guys really make it hard for us.
Whether it's being thoughtless or drunk, there are plenty of infuriating things that people do on planes that we then have to sort out, which makes our job much harder than it needs to be.
I've been working a flight attendant in a top airline for the last ten years and in a weekly blog for Sun Online Travel, I'm revealing little-known secrets about the job.
This week, I'll be talking about a few of the things that wind us up the most – so you know never to do it whenever you fly.
Toilet doors
It may sound like a small thing, but I've lost count of the amount of times people have asked me to open the toilet door for them.
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Just have a little read of the sign on the door and see what it tells you to do and follow the instructions, it's pretty simple stuff.
And if you can't see a sign, you'll either have push it or pull it, so give both a go.
So many times, passengers have just been stood there next to the toilet door, looking at me, as if there's a password.
There isn't – it's a door. I'm sure you've used one before and it's not any different because it's on a plane.
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Order your meals in advance
If you have any intolerances or dietary requirements, you have to order your meal choices in advance.
I'm all for veganism and if you want to be gluten free, that's fine. But we can't cater to every specific dietary requirement last minute.
If you tell me, as I'm offering you a chicken meal or a macaroni cheese that you don't eat meat or dairy, It's a bit late.
It also means I'm going to have to check every other thing on the on the plane to see if you can eat it and then that's a bit more of an issue than it needs to be. By that point, there's only so much we can do.
I'd also say, if you do have an awkward meal preference, just make sure you cater for yourself as well. Because there aren't really the facilities for us to knock you up a special meal when we're way up in the air.
Before you fly, research the airline you're flying with and see what they offer.
If they do offer it brilliant, go ahead and go for that. But if they don't offer it, you don't want to be finding out as you're sitting down for a 12 hour flight. Pack some snacks and be prepared.
Understand our role
A lot of people treat us like we're either waiters or bar staff.
We do have in-flight meal and drink services, but we are not a bar or restaurant.
If we've got it, I'm happy to give it to you, that's my mantra, but if you're asking me for seven gin and tonics at a time for you and your friends, it is a bit much if we aren't going around with the drinks trolley.
Similarly, if you're asking me for cocktails, don't expect me to be a mixologist all of a sudden – we're there for your safety ultimately and to look after you, we're not all going to know how to knock up a perfect Tom Collins. We're unlikely to have all the ingredients either.
Your kids are your responsibility
As well as not being trained bar staff, we also aren't there to babysit your children.
If you're a single parent, or simply flying solo with your kids, we don't mind looking after them while you pop to the toilet for a minute or two.
But on more than one occasion, I've been asked to hold babies for long portions of flights, especially when parents have had a couple of drinks.
Passing a child or infant or dependent on to us and then just expecting us to look after them while we've got our own duties to do is not on.
We don't really factor that in when we go to work. We're not looking looking after individual children, we're looking after all the passengers.
So if you need someone to look after them, that's your job to find someone, it's not ours.
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