‘That Was The Big Emergency’: Captain Tells Passengers To Only Hit Call Button In An Emergency Due To Turbulence. Then 1 Passenger Presses Theirs Twice

A flight attendant says she witnessed something absurdly egregious on a recent advice. Now she’s offering advice on what not to do in case of turbulence.

Megan Kennedy (@travelingberri) says she understands that turbulence in the skies can be pretty dangerous. Especially for anyone moving about the cabin.

Kennedy starts her TikTok off with a request. “Please do not be this person on an airplane,” she says. “I beg you.”

Over 100,000 people are curious to find out what mile-high faux-pas she witnessed.

Following publication, Kennedy told BoardingArea via email that, as a frequent flier, she’s seen a lot of bad behavior over the years.

“I think the trend that I’ve witnessed the most is the general lack of consideration for flight crew and other passengers,” she said.

The Bumpy Skies

“I was on a flight out this morning, and we hit some turbulence, ’cause that happens,” she says in her post. Then she proceeds to describe what typically happens when a flight hits rough skies. “They put the seatbelt sign on, and the captain comes over the loudspeaker and says, ‘I asked all the flight crew to stay seated while we get through this patch.'”

The plan was to keep everyone seated until they’re through the bumpy skies, and then service will resume.

Right after the announcement, someone hit the call button. “The button up top to say ‘please come help me,'” explains Kennedy.

After the call button was pressed, another announcement was made: “Hey, we are in turbulence, so we’re not going to be answering call buttons right now. But if this is really an emergency, press your call button again, and we will come help you.”

So now the bar had been set: for the immediate future, the call button is an emergency only situation.

How Should You Behave When Turbulence Hits?

Then the call button was pressed again by the passenger in the same seat. “I see one of the flight attendants come up the aisle,” says Kennedy.

“He’s holding onto seats, he’s trying to be safe as he does it.” The flight attendant finally got to the person having a mid-turbulence emergency. Kennedy says she could see what was happening because she was one row across and behind the passenger requesting assistance.

The emergency? Garbage. “They handed him trash,” she finishes.

“That was it, that was the big emergency, they needed to hand him trash during this turbulence,” she says. Then she reiterates. “[The flight attendant] needed to get up from his seat, potentially risk himself because turbulence is unpredictable and you never know what’s going to happen, because this person didn’t feel like holding on to their trash anymore.”

Kennedy ends by saying, “Please do better, don’t be this [expletive] person.”

She told BoardingArea that she’s seen a passenger move his socks and shoes for an entire flight, had someone in the middle seat seriously infringe on her personal space, and shove trash at flight attendants who are performing other duties.

One particular egregious example occurred during boarding. “I arrived at my row, and very speedily put my bag into the overhead, but the girl behind me could not wait 3 seconds and shoved past me while I was holding my bag over my head and I nearly fell over,” Kennedy said.

When Should You Use The Call Button On A Flight?

The internet agrees: it’s not too much to ask to hold onto trash when the flight gets unpredictable. Especially after the captain and crew have announced that everyone should stay seated.

“No fly list,” suggested Alicia1004.

Then a flight attendant entered the chat: “As a flight attendant, I’ve had people ring the button during turbulence to 1) ask why the WiFi is not working 2) ask for [a] drink 3) hand me trash. My response is always “the captain has requested the flight attendants to be seated at this time,” then walk away,” said Amanda Barbie.

And another flight attendant shared the absurd request she once got: “My favorite during turbulence: customer requested a cup of coffee!” recalled Bec Sch.

While Tracey Travels simply said, “Audacity is wild on planes.”

What Causes Turbulence?

In short: turbulence is wind. The Sheffield School of Aeronautics says that although it feels terrifying “it’s rarely a dangerous circumstance.” Typically planes fly above wind patterns that cause turbulence; however, wind gusts and air currents can occur at any altitude.

Different conditions can cause these changes in air patterns, including things on the ground like mountains, other aircraft, the heat of the sun, or weather.

While turbulence can be unnerving, it’s mostly manageable. And a little planning can help mitigate any queasiness. First, if you’re nervous, reserve a seat near the middle of the plane. Then, prior to boarding, use the restroom so you don’t have a bathroom emergency. If you hit turbulence, do your best to stay calm. Finally, don’t call a flight attendant for frivolous things. Trash is rarely an emergency, but safety is.

This story has been updated with comment from Kennedy.