Lets address the elephant in the room when it comes to airline travel Etiquette. Sitting next to Dave who can't control his flatulence for the duration of a 3-5 hour flight might just as well be called a health hazard equal to the effects of secondary smoking. Having to endure such utter disrespectful behavior is painful. Now don't get me wrong the one off 'fire in the hole' acts are forgivable as we are all human and it is a natural act. The one time pollution hazard within the cabin gets sucked up by the airplane filtering and the smell dissipates quickly. However when Dave is insistent in consuming a couple of bean burritos and eating cheese while pumping out gas at the rate at which a spark plug is firing in a accelerating car. That my friends is testament to a car muffler that needs to be seriously plugged. I have been in that situation several times, sitting in the middle seat and next to Dave who by the way is one hell of a beast you don't want to mess with. What do you do in this instance?
Second etiquette elephant is Smelly Lenny who is sitting next to you for a long haul flight which is packed to the rafters. There are two types of Lenny. The first one is the one who has some control and the second one is who is heaving with BO stench, knows it, is used to it but wants others to slow inhale the smell until they either pass out, vomit or simply spend the flight walking up and down the aisle to avoid the musky
smell. But the first Lenny is the one i have more of a problem with. This Lenny decides to slip off his shoes, then his socks and let the fumes to climb to your nostrils using brownian motion. However this smell doesn't dissipate. You need to endure it for the duration of the 10 hour flight. You could tell Lenny to put his shoes back on but then you are in that zone of endangerment where anything can happen.
I use these two examples which are very real and experienced by myself and many hundreds and thousands of flying passengers. Is it time to publish a passenger manifesto which outlines basic hygiene and etiquette rules that need to be followed. There is a long list of bad etiquette behaviors that are so common that we turn a blind eye to. Here are a few.
The loud conversationalist sitting across the aisle who just won't zip it
The parents who let their toddlers loose to terrorize the poor passenger sitting in the seat in front or behind
The window seated passenger who needs to pee every 20 minutes and makes you get up to allow him/her through through out the flight
The aisle passenger who dangles his/her long leg in the aisle making it a tripping hazard
The "honey i just landed' loud phone call 5 seconds after touch down
Pulling out the home cooked fish cooked in spicy garlic sauce that no one should need to smell
The list is not exhaustive. Ultimately it comes down to being self aware of ones potential negative impact on other fellow passengers. We should not impose these controllable acts on others in a confined space. Those who pluck up the courage to confront the gaseous Dave's or smelly Lenny's can end up in tricky confrontational situations which I am not advocating. Never the less with fuller flights these days we are going to see some of these confrontations turn serious. All it takes is self control, hygiene and awareness. If that doesn't work then I am all for the airport explosives detection equipment to be recalibrated to sniff passengers and if they do not pass the TSA sniff test they can't board or better still make them pay the upgrade fee and move them to Business or first class where all the other farts sit. My advice is to avoid confrontation, seek a polite moment with Dave or Lenny. If all else fails get the cabin crew to address the issue on your behalf. Better still wear a mask which will save your trip from multiple germs and smells.
Comentários