Passengers who take flight before landing are the real in-flight hazard
By K.R. Nayar I have been travelling to many places during the last 30 days. I don’t suffer from flight sickness, but lately, I’ve developed a fear of on-landing chaos. More and more people now open their overhead compartments and grab their luggage as soon as the plane touches the runway. These passengers act like they’ve been inspired by the 100-meter runners in the recent Olympics. Instead of “get set, go,” they follow their own version: “get up, pull luggage, and run.” On one flight, a passenger sprang out of his seat as if something had bitten him—only for me to realize his target was his bag in the overhead compartment. This forced the flight attendant to sternly announce that 'everyone should remain seated until the plane comes to a complete stop'. Reluctantly, he returned to his seat like a nursery school kid being told to sit down, despite being clearly over 40 years old. O n another flight, a passenger did the same; but he refused to get back to his seat. The ...