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.

 On another flight, a passenger did the same; but he refused to get back to his seat. The flight attendant repeatedly asked him to remain seated, but he ignored her and awkwardly balanced with one knee on his seat, gripping the backrest. He glared at the flight attendant as if to say, “Who gave you the right to tell me when to sit or stand?” Sometimes, I think flight attendants should be given canes to deal with these unruly passengers.

 

A few years ago, I witnessed a passenger lose his balance while trying to retrieve his bag before the plane had even stopped. All passengers around him instinctively raised their hands to block the falling bag, as if praying for divine intervention. The guilty passenger mumbled a quick apology. I wished someone had responded, “Sorry, we’re just regretting being seated next to such a mad, impatient co-passenger.”

 I always wonder—where are these passengers rushing to? Do they get a discount for being the first to reach the exit door? It’s time airlines impose fines on passengers who stand up and open the overhead compartment before the plane stops given that it is outright dangerous to be hit on the head with something heavy like a falling bag. Just like warnings on cigarette packets, airlines should post stickers warning that such passengers are hazardous to others. Are they in a rush because their brains are locked up inside their overhead luggage?

Sometimes, I think these passengers must have been part of a relay team in school athletics, given how they rush to the door with their bags. These types aren’t just co-passengers—they’re potential causes of serious injuries.

 Next time at check-in, perhaps agents should, along with the power bank question, get him to sign that he won’t jump out of the seat before the plane comes to a complete stop. Then if he does not honour it, they should be loaded into the baggage compartment.