There’s something about public transportation and traveling on planes that brings out some of the weirdest aspects of humankind. Passengers often run into hilarious and dramatic situations that make them wonder why their lives suddenly resemble a movie script.
Redditor u/TheRealWhoDat started an intriguing discussion when they asked internet users to share the strangest things they’ve ever overheard while flying on a plane. And though many of these are truly funny, others are quite concerning. We’ve collected the most interesting stories for your amusement, Pandas, so scroll down and we hope you enjoy them—especially if you’re currently in an airport waiting room!
Bored Panda wanted to learn more about the appeal of eavesdropping and why it sometimes makes us feel guilty, so we reached out to social psychologist Alison Jane Martingano, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, and a blogger at Psychology Today. She was kind enough to explain to us how eavesdropping is rooted in our social nature. Read on for the insights she shared with us.
#1
There was this kid was behind me that kept telling her dad she lost her tooth and the dad was disgruntledly trying to find it, and some guy nearby said “hey kid, I hear if you lose your tooth on a plane, the tooth fairy gives you 50 bucks” to which the dad replied, “hey look sweetie, the tooth fairy decided to sit next to us on the plane!”
#2
Some guy told his partner that she didn’t need more yarn and every woman in earshot promptly told him how wrong he was.
Image credits: KittikatB
#3
I am a pilot for a major airline. Decades ago I was running for a deadhead flight home and managed to snag the last seat. A mother and young daughter were seated next to me.
Halfway through the flight the mother, seeing my disheveled look after flying all day, asked if I wanted her daughters PB&J sandwich that she wasn’t going to eat.
I politely declined, but she insisted.
That was the best Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich I’d ever had!
According to Martingano, people are, fundamentally, social beings. “Research in social neuroscience reveals that our brains have something akin to an ‘autopilot’ setting, referred to as the ‘default mode network.’ This part of our brain becomes active when we’re resting or not focused on another task. Intriguingly, it plays a significant role in processing social information, suggesting we are naturally inclined towards contemplating social situations and interactions,” the UW-Green Bay assistant professor explained to Bored Panda via email.
“This includes what others are doing or saying. If we find ourselves on an airplane with little else to do, it is likely that our thoughts will default to people, people we know, or those around us. Additionally, you might find a research study of interest which indicates that, from infancy, human brains are highly attuned to human voices, demonstrating our inherent curiosity in others’ conversations.”
#4
Not something I overheard, but something semi-interesting nonetheless. I once went and got sushi with my mom and I noticed a guy and a girl at another table very clearly on their first date. They were both dressed very nice, lot of awkward laughter, the guy was being ultra gentlemanly like pulling her chair out for her. You know, just the usual stuff that tips an observer off that they were still very much getting to know each other and wanting to make a good impression.
Fast forward 2 and a half years. I was boarding a plane in Atlanta, GA heading to Colorado with my brother to go skiing when I saw the same couple seated near the back of the plane. I was in the row directly in front of them, so when I put my bag up, I turned to them and said, “This is going to be super weird, but did you guys have your first date at (insert sushi restaurant)?” They both got wide eyed in shock and laughed and told me that they had in fact had their first date there. I told them I was there that night and just happened to recognize them when I boarded the plane. It was friendly and we chit-chatted for a bit, they were going skiing at the same place we were, so it was cool and all.
Day 2 of our trip, my brother and I decide to go to the top of the mountain and take a few of the more advanced slopes down to the bottom. There were maybe a dozen or so people up there, and before taking off we decided to look at the trail map to make sure we were going to get back to where the shuttle could pick us up without having to hike our gear for 2 miles. About 20 feet away from us, a guy got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend and everyone clapped as she jumped up and down with excitement and said “YES!!” They took of their helmets and goggles to kiss, and it was the SAME FREAKING COUPLE!! I literally was there for their first date, met them for the first time on a plane purely by chance because I was sitting in front of them, and was present when he proposed to her. I assume they’re still married because at the rate we’re going, I’m probably going to run into them again if one of them decides to file for divorce.
Image credits: JudgementalChair
#5
Nervous passenger: Excuse me. How often do planes crash?
Flight Attendant: Only once!
Image credits: Ellie_Llewellyn
#6
A 5 year old boy once said “Dad, can you ask them to pull over so I can go to the toilet?”. Haha
Image credits: RonnyLuvsU
Meanwhile, we were curious about why some people feel guilty when they overhear someone’s private conversation. Martingano shed some light on this. “Studies suggest that guilt tends to emerge when we believe we’ve infringed upon social norms or expectations. Although eavesdropping can offer insightful information about our social environment, it can also be perceived as a violation of these norms, particularly those pertaining to privacy,” she said.
As with most things, eavesdropping has its fair share of upsides and downsides. According to Martingano, one of the potential benefits is that eavesdropping can “serve as an opportunity to refine our theory of mind,” which is the foundational element of empathy. “In this context, eavesdropping can help us practice identifying norms and behavioral cues, ultimately enhancing our ability to navigate social interactions,” the social psychologist explained.
Meanwhile, on the negative side of the scales, you have the discomfort or guilt that you might feel from violating social norms and someone’s privacy. It’s also essential to take the information you hear with a grain of salt. “It’s crucial to bear in mind that overheard information may be incomplete or misconstrued, potentially leading to misunderstandings or false impressions,” Martingano said.
#7
Not so much what he said, but I sat next to this fully grown man that was playing plants vs zombies the whole 3 hour flight with incredible enthusiasm. Everytime a plant got eaten or he killed a difficult zombie he’d jump in his seat, pump his fist and aggressively whisper yeerrsss, YEERRSSS, gert em yessss….
Image credits: DeousPascitCorvos
#8
“I’ve told you many times Brenda, I am not shaving my balls! It’s my balls and I’m a man!”
Image credits: EngineeringVirgin
#9
?on my flight to Denver, a really nice woman sat beside me. We can just started chit chatting about flying and how excited we both are to get to Denver. She asked me why I was going to Denver, and I said because I’m going to see my cousin get married. Then I asked her. She told me she is going so that she can go back to her old childhood home and kill herself. I was shocked, and didn’t know what to say. She continued on with why- that’s the house she was continually beaten in and sexually assaulted by her father staring at the age 4. She told me how much shes suffered and can’t continue on. I just sat there not even realizing I was holding her hand, and told her how truly sorry I am for her. She just half smiled and said thank you, and the pain will be over soon. Now many of you may react or feel in different ways to what I did next. I went and told the flight attendants that I was sitting next to a very suicidal person. I gave them very little detail but enough to make some action. Upon landing in DEN, the flight was met by emergency services. The lady somehow figured it out that they were there for her. She turned cold and numb said nothing but walked right to the awaiting ambulance.??I hope she is ok??
Image credits: Jayflys787
Any time that you take a large group of people and plop them in an area that’s cut off from the rest of the world for any amount of time, you create some friction. This can lead to positive interactions like complete strangers sowing the seeds of friendship because one of them’s reading a book the other one likes.
Or it can lead to conflict as someone wants to recline their seat but there’s not enough space, someone’s listening to music too loudly… or someone’s desperate to use the bathroom right this very second and the entire plane is privy to their pain. There are a lot of emotions swirling up above the clouds, and they make for good stories once the passengers disembark at their final destination.
#10
Way too late for anyone to see this and it wasn’t so much overheard as said to me:
I was flying alone and this little girl (maybe 5) wandered down the aisle and said hello.
I asked where her parents were and she said they died and a police officer was flying with her to take her to her aunt. My brain was not able to conjure any response at all apart from ” errr…. sorry” she asked if she could look out my window so I moved over to the aisle seat and let her, me continuously looking for a cop that she might be travelling with.
She then told me how her parents were driving back from a party last week and their car got pushed off the road by a truck into a tree. She was quietly crying while telling me this story. Suddenly I hear “oh there you are” from the aisle. There’s a woman standing there.
The girl says “hello mommy” and leaves with her.
#11
Delayed for some issue. I hear banging on what I assume is a luggage door underneath. After several minutes I hear “f**k it we’ll fix it in Pittsburgh” ?
Image credits: Dugsage
#12
Pilot accidentally left the intercom switch on. The whole plane heard him say “Ooo. That’s weird”. Nothing else. Plane took off amid varying levels of anxiety throughout the cabin. I’m here to tell the tale today, so thankfully it wasn’t too weird!
Image credits: Traffodil
At times, it’s impossible not to overhear a fellow plane passenger if they’re talking very loudly or even yelling. Other times, our curiosity kicks in and we start to eavesdrop on strangers’ conversations. Before we know it, our minds are filled with saucy details about their personal lives.
According to Maddie Cohen, writing for Umbrella Security Services, eavesdropping is entirely natural—it’s a primal part of us. Being aware of our surroundings is useful because it helps keep us, our loved ones, and our property safe. Knowledge really is power. And you can learn a lot by actively listening to your surroundings.
However, there’s another reason why folks eavesdrop: it’s fun! It can be incredibly entertaining to learn about the hidden aspects of people’s lives. Listening in on a conversation is basically like watching a real-time soap opera (though perhaps with slightly poorer editing…).
#13
This isn’t “crazy” but its definitely the most fun I’ve had on a plane:
This guy introduced himself as “Caribbean Boy,” chatted with nearly everyone on the plane, asked them what their plans were, complimented everyone, then started singing (Bob Marley type stuff). He had most of the passengers clapping along, everyone was smiling. Most charismatic man I ever met.
Image credits: jdmillar86
#14
Not that “crazy” as such but when literally about to touch down, a lady got up and started walking urgently towards the bathroom.
The cabin crew immediately started saying “Madam! We’re about to land! You have to sit down!”
The lady responded by screaming in a panic “I’M GONNA S**T ME-SELF!!!”
They allowed her to continue
Image credits: ChangingMonkfish
#15
I sat in front of a kid (12-13) and his older sister, who I assume was his guardian. It was a cross-country flight, and the kid was casually talking about how he had never flown before and he is looking forward to it. He seemed likely on the spectrum a bit. It is pretty wholesome so far. Then the plane starts to move and he instantly freaks all the way out, screaming, “WE ARE ALL GOING TO F*****G DIE!!! Let me off this plane, it’s a f*****g coffin, you’re all going to die. It’s going to be a f*****g fireball.” Etc.
The stewardess comes by and tries to calm him down. The sister is talking to him in English and Spanish, trying to get him to relax, telling him he is embarrassing her, she’s never taking him to Puerto Rico if he keeps acting like this, etc. The guy in front of me turns around and loudly offers the kid Xanax. Finally, the hero of the story, a big Southern black lady says, “James (not his name) honey I’m gonna need you to calm down sweetie ’cause you’re making all the rest of us real nervous now, ok?”
Eventually, and for no noticable reason the kid relaxes and starts talking about how cool flying is. Like a switch, he starts looking out the window, saying things like, “Wow! The view is really cool! I feel safe now, everything is OK after all.” Audible collective sigh of relief.
Where was his sister flying him to? Astronaut camp. I think about him every time I fly.
Image credits: cjthepossum
Quartz points out that eavesdropping is something all of us have done, and may actually make us better people. According to language science professor John Locke, the author of ‘Eavesdropping: An Intimate History,’ all of us have to be geared up for eavesdropping because we live in complicated social arrangements and compete with others.
“Monkeys generally are very watchful and not just by eye, but by ear. They recognize on some level that they need to know things that others are unlikely to want them to know. We can assume that the very earliest humans, or proto-humans, were like that as well,” Locke told Quartz.
The professor points out that “there is no group of people in the world, no society that doesn’t do this [eavesdrop], and that hasn’t been doing this for recorded history—even recorded art depicting people with an ear to the keyhole. It’s an extraordinarily strong motive. Some people do it all the time. Others claim that they don’t do it, but we’re all a bit interested whenever we realize that we’re about to receive a few clues about what some people who don’t want to be observed are doing.”
#16
Not that crazy but a fun story.
Last December I was flying from Frankfurt to Chicago and was seated in the absolute last row of the plane where the staff prepares stuff so you can hear them just chatting with each other.
Right before takeoff I heard one of the flight attendants say to another “is that thing **still** broken?? I swear they’ll never get around to repairing it” which is not something you want to hear on a flight. The guy next to me was like “did you hear that?” looking at me like wtf I hope nothing major is broken. The attendants then said something like “well at least it’s not maggots this time” and me and the guy next to me were thoroughly concerned about how this flight would go.
After laughing it off, I spent the next 9 hours chatting to this complete stranger about our entire lives, relationships, family drama etc. We had four glasses of wine and decided to watch the matrix together making sure to pause whenever the other person paused. I don’t think we exchanged names, but if you’re out there guy from Wisconsin living in Italy and teaching English, thanks for the most fun flight I’ve ever had!
#17
Two older guys in my row on the way to an academic conference. One of them mentions that the first thing he is doing is attending lecture on some esoteric physics topic, but before he can even finish the name of the topic, guy #2 says “oh, of course: The Effects of co-limited tesseracts on quantum membrane string interactions (or somesuch physics jargon.) Are you familiar with the topic?” Guy #1 gets half way through saying “well actually I-” before he is cut off by guy #2 who says “Because, you see, most people, even in the field are woefully undereducated in this particular subject…” and then proceeds to talk guy #1’s head off for about ten minutes. Guy #1 just nots and smiles patiently through the whole exchange. At the end of his missive, guy #2 says “So, the lecture is being given by Dr. So-and-So, one of the leaders in the field, and absolute legend. Do you know his work?” And, of course, guy #1 puts on a very kind but somewhat sheepish look and says “Actually, I am Professor So-and-So: your understanding of the field is actually quite good!” Guy #2 turns red as a tomato for a few seconds but seemed to get over it quickly and they spent the rest of the flight casually talking shop about theoretical physics.
#18
Sitting next to a young woman and her boyfriend on a flight about to depart to San Diego. They were going for a romantic getaway, and apparently she decided to “find God” on the way to the airport. What did that mean? Well, she decided that they weren’t having anymore sex until he married her, but kissing, hand holding and other PG rated intimacy were perfectly ok.
Boyfriend tried his best not to flip out, but you could tell he was very agitated. An hour later we’re in the air and they’re both awkwardly sitting there without saying a word. She gasps and starts crying rather loudly. Apparently he logged into the planes WiFi, canceled the hotel and booked himself a turnaround flight home. Pretty sure they were done as well.
Image credits: KidPowered17
#19
I was flying to Seattle from Atlanta and there was a baby crying for the majority of the flight. The parents were doing their best and it really was not their fault, just a s****y situation. About halfway to Seattle, the man seated in front of the baby snapped and started screaming at the baby and his parents, cursing at them saying how they’re awful parents and he’s gonna beat them all (including the baby) to a pulp when they land. A flight attendant tried to ask the guy to calm down and he said he would also beat her up. The pilot had to come on and tell everyone to calm down or else we had to make an early landing. We made it to Seattle and the guy ended up having to be tackled by 4 cops at the gate because he was trying to run away after being approached by them.
Image credits: _surya_p_
#20
I was flying solo into Orlando. The woman next to me was so excited about her new boyfriends boat and was going on and f*****g on about how excited she was for this trip.
I nodded and put my headphones in and about 1 minute later, she grabbed the cord on my headphone and pulled it out of my ear so she could blather on about it…
I asked her if she had lost her mother f*****g mind.
Image credits: _joeBone_
#21
I was sitting next to a father with his small child. The child wouldn’t stop hopping around, until the father said “sit still and be a good boy or the plane will crash because of you and we will end up dying.”
Never seen a kid so quiet before.
#22
Flying domestic US. Two oldish ladies spent the whole flight talking about how ugly my husband is, in French. I guess they assumed no one could speak it. We can.
Image credits: SlashingSimone
#23
Once I was flying between two Australian cities, and there were a bunch of highly manicured young men sitting in front of me. They looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t place them. Naturally, I spent the entire flight trying to figure out who they were, mostly by looking between the seats while they were texting their friends.
I saw them write a bunch of messages to mates about how much “they didn’t want to hang out with us” and “they just spend all their time in their rooms”.
It wasn’t until we landed and I walked out into a room of screaming teenage girls – signs and selfies at the ready, that I placed that we’d been sitting directly behind Five Seconds of Summer – an Australian boy band which was reaching popularity at the time. I can only assume they were texting about the band they were touring with – a little known outfit called One Direction.
#24
“He’s 17!” – my dad, to the flight attendant who was about to serve me a Jack & Coke instead of the Coke I had asked for. Killjoy.
Image credits: ZormkidFrobozz
#25
A guy coming home early to bust a cheating wife. He was on the phone with a friend/family who told him the other guy was at his house abd they didn’t expect him back until the next week.
Image credits: mauore11
#26
I overheard a passenger passionately arguing with their seatmate about the correct way to eat a slice of pizza with chopsticks.
Image credits: zaramarley07
#27
Ohh. I got this one…
Passenger W is struggling to get his luggage into the overhead compartment and passenger E seated next to me starts getting upset. W’s carry-on clearly doesn’t fit.
E speaks up saying to be careful because his luggage is there. Flight attendant comes over and says passenger W needs to check his bag. W grows increasingly disturbed, but it works out.
Then W says to the flight attendant “I’m sorry, it’s just that I haven’t taken my medication. I get so nervous with all these body bags on board. You know I have body parts in my luggage.”
Passenger E turns to me and says, “did you hear that? I just have a laptop in my luggage!”
#28
Two mormon missionaries trying to convert the sweet, naive man sitting between them the entire flight.
Image credits: floweringsouls
#29
Hour long plane trip from Dothan Alabama to Atlanta. Sat in front of 2 guys arguing the validity of demon possession. One believed that it wasn’t a possession per se, but merely the devil interfering with your thoughts. The other believed it was an actual demon possession, and he knew people that did exorcisms which solved the problem. It was a fascinating philosophical discussion. I was entertained for the full hour.
The world is different down south.
#30
“There’s a bomb on the plane, it’s going to go off at (insert time here)”
(as the time he said approached)
“Ten, nine, eight…”
The police were waiting for him when we got there.
#31
I was sat next to a teenage boy and his dad. The kid was telling his dad how much he loved the song “sexual healing” by Marvin Gaye, when the kid was finally done talking the dad just looked at him and said “you’re a virgin”
Image credits: itsrae2you
#32
“Yo, are those snakes OK back there?”
#33
I was in window seat, lady next to me daughter on isle side
She kept saying see you can see the earth is really flat from up here. No curve at all etc
It was like she wanted me to go oh wow you’re right
B***h if you think the earth is flat i don’t think you understand gravity enough but some how trust a plane?
#34
When i was 16 i was taking a flight from Oslo to Stockholm, around 45 minutes. Before lift off, the guy in front of me( around 30 years old) broke up with his gf who sat next to me……. They yelled so much and loudly during that flight I had the worst head ache when we landed. Why not just wait 45 minutes?
Edit: Wow, 1k upvotes. Thank you ?
#35
A small child once told me that she had to fix the plane by lifting the armrest up and down. She also called me a dog-headed boy girl.
Roasted.
Image credits: Prag-O-Matic
#36
My competitor’s entire sales plan for a prospect I was on my way to visit. Definitely helped my pitch.
#37
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve been facing some strong headwinds and… it appears we burned up a *little* more fuel than we anticipated so we will be making a diversion to Fiji.”
This was flying from the US to Australia in a 747. I had seen on the trip map that we had been flying in the wrong direction for like 2+ hours. When we did land we landed hard and they told us that because of the landing we had to sit on the ground with the engines off in Fiji in the summer while technicians looked at the plane.
When we were airborne again, our destination was fogged out and we diverted from Sydney to Melbourne. I don’t ever want to spend 26 hours on a plane again.
#38
On a flight from Honolulu to LA, I hear a woman say, “Why are there so many white people on this plane?”
Image credits: Poultrygeist74
#39
passenger 1 – i cant wait to get there, this party is gonna be insane
passenger 2 – did you hear, jose’s estranged wife is gonna be there
passenger 1 – why is she estranged?
passenger 2 – because shes strange, and hes mexican
#40
I was sitting next to a dad and his daughter who was about 5. He was super cool and was chatting away while his daughter started talking to me. She was so sweet and bubbly. And gave wayyy to much information to me. She said something along the lines of ” I went to my grandma and grandpas house and they’re married, I wish my dad would marry my mom but they can’t talk to each other but I always wish they were married like my grandma and grandpa.” Her dad would have been horrified. And I was just sad.
Image credits: lpcoolj1
#41
Sat next to a college guy once who , while drinking some alcoholic beverages, started crying and telling me he killed his best friend in a drunk driving accident. Because he had good lawyers he got off wo jail time. He was sobbing and drinking. When we landed I made sure he was NOT driving.
#42
The absolute mayhem that broke out when the captain announced that we were in fact not gonna get to take off because of night air traffic restrictions at our destination after we had been sitting and waiting in the aircraft for 2 hours already…
That entire evening was just a great mess, first we had to wait for a flight attendant who was called from stand by, then we finally got to board the plane, but apparently the airline had a severe ground staff shortage so there was no one to get the luggage onto the plane, when the luggage was there we didn’t have a tow, then the captain told us we wouldn’t get landing clearance at our destination but that we couldn’t deplane either, because, well, ground staff shortage, and the only guy who was allowed to attach the jetbridge was busy with other planes, so we sat there for another 2 hours, absolute horror for the flight attendants, cause people were raging and didn’t understand that the airline employees pn the plane had nothing to do with rescheduling/ compensation/ or the reasons for this mess in general…
I actually kinda enjoyed the whole thing, turned out to become a little adventure, I got to transfer to another airport in the city, spent the night there and flew out with a better airline the next morning, paid by the original airline + cancellation compensation, but man poor flight attendants
#43
Before takeoff, after the doors were closed, a kid of about 6/7 yrs old towards the front of the plane stood up on his seat, faced the rest of the plane and yelled “we’re all gonna dieee” while his parents tried to pull him back down.
Image credits: leafygirl
#44
I was on a flight and happen to glance over and see the phone of the guy sitting next to me. He was scrolling tik tok and watched some clip of a girl dancing in revealing clothing. I’m not even convinced the girl in the video was of age, but anyways, this like 50 year old dude just comments “Yummy!” and then keeps scrolling.
Image credits: W_4ca
#45
The lady beside me told me that she was farting a lot, and she didn’t care about telling me because she wouldn’t see me again
Image credits: Pawpaw-22
#46
Two guys daring each other to seduce one of the flight attendants
Image credits: anon
#47
A 2 hour domestic argument circling around the man’s “arrogance” and the woman’s “bitchiness”
They were told before take off if they didn’t cut their s**t they’d be kicked off the plane, and they did until about 20 mins after take off, then they were just bitching at each other the entire flight
They were going to Croatia to see the man’s “homeland” as he called it, but I got the impression this was a recent revelation as she kept correcting him on his own family history. “Your grampa wasn’t from _______, dumbass, he was from _____”
I wanted the plane to crash
#48
Just happened last week.
Our flight crew was definitely not happy and there were a lot of difficult people on the flight. The vibes were bad before we even took off.
As we began our descent the flight crew just went to the back of the plane and proceeded to do *nothing*. I was sitting at the very back. They were just hanging out, openly talking about how they were “done” and couldn’t wait to land. And then they made one of the craziest announcements I’ve ever heard:
“Ladies and gentlemen we’ll be doing the honor system today, please make sure your neighbors have their seatbelts on and things stowed away.”
I would say that 90% of the people on the plane had headphones on, or didn’t heart it, or ignored it, or didn’t speak English. The other 10% were looking around like “what the f**k?”
And then we hit the worst turbulence I’ve ever experienced while flying. No warning but *this s**t happens during landing* and tons of people didn’t have their seatbelts on, nothing was stowed, there had been no trash collection, and at least five people were in the aisles getting things from overhead or trying to use the bathroom. These five people becoming human sized projectiles. All the flight crew did was shout from the back of the plane. Which…at that point was probably all they could do. One dumbass was like “I fly all the time, we aren’t even *close* to landing.” He proceeded to open an overhead compartment and immediately get taken out by a bag that had shifted.
Anyway it was a huge f*****g mess. Stuff and people were going everywhere for about five minutes and then we landed. And then people just started chaotically grabbing things and trying to rush off the plane which caused numerous arguments. Kids were screaming. Etc.
It was by far one of the stupidest most avoidable things I have ever experienced in my life. A very real “omg I can’t believe I might die with these a******s” moment.
I’ve also never seen that much trash and general debris all over the inside of a plane before, let alone on a *2 hour flight*.
#49
An old couple, like in their 70s on their way to Florida getting into an argument, and the wife just started bawling out of nowhere. The husband didn’t want to buy her a cocktail.
She started talking about divorce after the vacation and he was just laughing. He even said “you do this every time we get on a plane.”
He did eventually buy her the gin and tonic though.
#50
Everyone is boarded and the plane is in the middle of the taxi when a kid about 10 seats up and on the left side (I was on right side) starts crying and screaming at the top of his lungs “I NEED TO POOP” and “I’M GOING TO POOP” over and over again until the seatbelt signs came off. I’ve never seen so many worried faces and the look of panic as the mother picked up the kid and bolted to the toilet.
#51
Two guys next to me gloating to each other about how they brutally beat their wife and kids. Then they went on to discuss what would be a reasonable cause to murder them, like if they cheated or stole from you or something. They were giggling like schoolchildren. They definitely did not realize I spoke Spanish and probably thought I couldn’t understand them.
Edit: I was like 14/15, there was no way I had the balls to say anything to those guys or report anything
#52
On a charter flight from Goa to the UK
“He’s taking Ecstasy, and he has a knife in his bag,” said an old couple to the stewardess, referring to me.
I said, “I don’t have a knife, I’m taking vallium. I just want to go to sleep”
Stewardess believed me & moved the couple.
#53
Last time I went on a plane the people infront of me where talking loud enough for me to hear and I was bored so I listened in on their conversation
Apparently they had smuggled a rare snake onto the plane to sell to a buyer they found in Australia
#54
“We aren’t cleared to taxi at the moment. We should be taking off within an hour.”
Image credits: UpToNoGood140
#55
Have a buddy who’s flown many many times and is comfortable with it, but he said one time he heard an older (80’s) lady talking about how easy it would be for her to sneak a bomb on the plane. She apparently went into detail with her “gals” about how exactly she would do it. He said he didn’t really worry bc it sounded like she was joking but it made him uneasy because of how simple she made it sound lol.
Image credits: lkzzzzz
#56
On an Aegean Flight from Athens, and a baby/toddler kicked apparently was repeatedly kicking the guy’s chair in front of him The guy got up and was angry, threatened to kill the baby. The other father yelled back threatened to press charges, and they were yelling and ready to fight. They had to be separated. The flight continued and by the end of the trip, they apologized and it was resolved.
#57
Sitting on a plane in Chicago, waiting for take-off. There was a delay so the guy across the aisle was talking on his phone, very loudly. He looked familiar, amd was wearing a hat from a company in my hometown. I end up overhearing his entire conversation in which he proceeded to s**t talk my brother, whom he indirectly works with. We were over 500 miles from home. He was using full names, details that couldn’t be misconstrued, it was hilarious. I wanted to call him out on it but he looked a lot crazy so I kept quiet.
#58
Not that interesting but I was going through security and the guy in front of me had this really fancy looking box that got taken to look at, it went missing at some point and As I was putting my shoes on I heard him very stressedly scream “WHERE DID YOU PUT MY FATHERS ASHES?!”
#59
“Want me to kick his a*s?!” Said by the friend of a man who kept refusing to turn his phone off before takeoff. Pilot had to come back and warn him it was his last chance. The passenger next to him kept telling the FA he had his phone on still. Everything seemed settled and then randomly toward the end of the flight the two parties involved decided a fight was in order and a light brawl occurred somewhere near Las Vegas. Once we landed at LAX we went right to the gate and they were arrested and taken off the plane.
#60
I lived in Thailand and the sex tourism there really can’t be overstated. So so many ugly old white dudes with young Thai women.
Anyway I was flying from Chang Mai to Bangkok with an overweight pasty white guy who I assumed was with a prostitute. They were arguing about money and I heard him say, “I gave it all to you. Then he started taking out bills and just shoved them in her face. He eventually scoffed and gave me a look like, “Ugh whores, what can you do eh buddy?”.
#61
Not exactly overheard, but I had a guy sit next to me on a plane when I was about 14 and he was absolutely sloshed, he even told me he went to just about every bar in the airport before the flight, and then let me know all about some wedding he was going to. He even asked me for some of the candy I was eating.. But the best part was that he let me know the wedding gift he was bringing was a humming bird carcass, and that he had a machete in his suitcase? It turned out he was in the wrong seat, by the way. The plane had not even taken off and he managed to tell me all this before he was moved.
#62
Nothing too crazy. A couple in their 50’s who were all over each other (like tongues in ears, hands in pants etc). They were busy working out the logistics of their next getaway. They were both cheating on their partners and laughing at how gullible their SO’s were believing another “business trip” would come up so soon.
#63
B3! F**k. Anyway, I watched two people argue if their acid tabs were kicking in via the plane battleship game. C3! F**k me and f**k you. Are you getting these texts? When is this flight taking off?
#64
I was once next to this young kid, his dad, mom, and I think one other kid. I’m looking at the kid play on his iPad and playing this guitar game, when I hear the mom tell the dad, “You cheated on me again!?” She starts to hit him and he completely disregards it, and she says again, “Why did you do it again?”
#65
not something I overheard but a friend was telling me he was on the flight between Stockholm/Thailand (either from/to) and there were two old guys openly talking/bragging about all the s**t they had done with young boys whilst in Thailand
#66
I had a seat near the lavatory.
Some poor bastard was in a rush to use it, and once he got inside, it sounded like he fired up a chainsaw followed by some alarming gurgling, gushing noises. It took a while for him to come out, but he seemed okay.
#67
I once was flying back home from Washington DC on a relatively short flight. The woman sitting next to me had a whole bunch of angry, profanity filled texts and emails open that were written to her ex-husband. I didn’t want to be snooping, but when you’re sitting on a cramped cabin and can only look at what is in front of you, it’s kind of hard to ignore.
#68
“Cleared to Land, Any Runway.” — On a United flight on Thanksgiving two decades ago, listening to “from the cockpit,” after our transcontinental flight had a duck go through an engine at our dawn take-off from an airport (Sacramento, CA) surrounded by wetlands. There was smoke in the cabin and the pilot had declared an emergency. Ground control didn’t respond at first, raising the question of whether the bird had first hit something else and damaged the radio.
Postscript: we landed fine, met by emergency equipment, and were towed to the gate. Our flights were auto-rebooked before we could get off the plane. Our re-rebooked flight was direct to our destination region, making up for the later departure, although involving a little more driving in the snow.
#69
girls saying theyre gonna put shrooms up their a*s lmao