Annoying passengers can ruin any flight, but most of the time, the biggest icky situations happen right next to you. But what if the person who frustrates you the most on a flight is in front of you? And what if the most annoying thing about that person is their hair and not their personality?
Well, that’s what one woman faced on an American Airlines flight, which she describes as an “American Airlines horror story.” The passenger directly in front of her consistently placed her long, flowing hair over the back of the seat, completely blocking her view of the screen. When she gently moved the hair to the side to restore her view of the in-flight entertainment, the other passenger breezily put her hair in front of the screen again, seemingly without a care in the world.
TikToker Makenna Balcezak (@makennabalcezak) posted a video clip of the incident, which has garnered over 308,000 views. In the caption, she says, “I hate flying omg.”
While the post does seem to be light-hearted, many frequent fliers joked that they’d have found a perfect place to stick their chewing gum if this happened to them.
Balcezak appeared to be in a sticky—or hairy—situation from the moment she boarded her American Airlines flight. That’s because the passenger in front of her was either jokingly or genuinely messing with her by placing her hair over the back of the seat.
As a general rule, most passengers on flights are expected to keep their arms, legs, and hair to themselves. Confined seating on an aircraft can significantly impact a person’s mood or comfort. For that reason alone, people can tend to be more irritable on flights, leading to greater stress responses in individuals.
Airlines don’t necessarily have formal policies regarding personal space, but flight attendants are frequently advised to help support passengers in addressing many of the unspoken rules of air travel—including keeping passengers within their individual “personal space bubbles” to the best of their ability.
While it’s unclear whether or not Balcezak knew the passenger in front of her, commenters emphasized that regardless, she should find a clever way to retaliate.
Suggestions to keep a pack of chewing gum specifically for this situation seemed to be the most evil, but other comments said they’d be on the no fly list after experiencing something similar.
“A whole pack of chewing gum but only because I have no scissors,” one commenter said.
Others said that this is exactly why flights don’t allow passengers to bring a pair of scissors onboard. That wouldn’t stop some passengers from finding other creative means to make the flight miserable for both parties, though.
One suggested, “I would order food and ask for extra condiments lol.”
More serious commenters recommended calling a flight attendant over. One said, “Call. The. Flight. Attendant. They get paid to help you…”
The best move in these circumstances is to reach out to a flight attendant and ask politely for some help. Passengers who feel uncomfortable expressing their concerns out loud can write it down. That way it doesn’t cause any additional strife 35,000 feet above the ground.
We’ve reached out to American Airlines via email and Makenna via TikTok direct message for comment. We’ll let you know if either party responds.
@makennabalcezak I hate flying omg #flight #horror #americanairlines ♬ House featuring John Cale – Charli xcx & John Cale
