Passenger Learns New Plane Hack To Have The Best Nap On Your Flight, But Flight Attendants Are Sounding The Alarm: ‘As A Flight Attendant, We Have To Stop People From Doing It’

Anyone who’s ever tried to catch a snooze on a flight knows the struggle to get comfortable is real. But one innovative (and flexible) Boston-bound traveler has found a comfort hack.

In a video posted to TikTok that’s garnered more than 630,000 views, Angelica (@angelica55872)shows a woman’s be-Ugged feet perched on the edge of a plane’s seat, held in place by the seatbelt. Based on the angle, she’s deep in the nap zone.

Then the camera cuts to the TikTok creator’s own seat view, and she’s got her feet tucked up on the chair. She’s put a caption in the video so the internet can be certain that this pretzel-adjacent position is deliberate: “To the girl flying home to BOS in seat 24A you changed my life. May you be protected at all cost.”

Nap Hack Drama

But this solution isn’t embraced by everyone. “That’s really not safe. As a flight attendant, we have to stop people from doing it…it needs to be worn tight and low across your waist for it to be effective,” said Tay32111.

Other users also have some observations, “My knees hurt just watching this [laughing under a droplet emoji, crying laughing emoji],” added Kate Redhead Diary.

While KingofBacchanal_868  said there’s another reason not to sit that way, “Yea, yea danger whatever…no. If I do this ima activate my bowels. IBS is not fun.”

Then one user offers a solution: “Just get a foot hammock to go around the tray table so you can be even comfier and safer.”

Please Keep Your Feet Off The Seat

First, the internet agrees: please wear shoes in the airport and on the plane.

As to sleeping in this position, it’s sparked debate about risks, comfort, and etiquette. Fox News reported that “a board-certified psychiatrist with experience of providing mental health programming for airline passengers, said this position may increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis.”

Per Mayo Clinic, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) “occurs when a blood clot (thrombus) forms in one or more of the deep veins in the body, usually in the legs. DVT can cause leg pain or swelling.” This can become a life-threatening if blood clots in the veins break loose. The clots can travel through the bloodstream and get stuck in the lungs, blocking blood flow (pulmonary embolism).

But even without potential health complications, there is risk associated with this seated position. The reason airlines mandate wearing seatbelts is comply with Federal Law. However, the law has a practical purpose: to prevent injury during take-off and landing, two of the riskiest times in a flight. Take off and landing take up only about 4% of total flight time, but 49% of fatal accidents occur in this window. As one commercial pilot told Business Insider, “When you’re blasting down that runway at over 100 mph, things are happening really quickly.”

Additionally, there is generally more traffic present during take off and landing—making a tense situation trickier to navigate. During landing, the pilot is doing everything they’d do during take off, but flying towards the ground instead of away from it. Any wind or hiccups could have a more dramatic impact because there’s less space to absorb a mistake. Landings require much more precision. As one pilot explained, “Oversimplified, it’s easier to make a plane fly than it is to make it stop.”

As nerve-wracking as it all sounds, the experts Business Insider spoke to still agree: “even if a [flying] accident were to happen on your next flight, you’d have a 95.7% chance of surviving it.”

BoardingArea reached out to Angelica via TikTok direct message and with a comment on the post. We will update this if she gets back to us.

@angelica55872 An actual life changer #jetblue #hack #fuckeconomy #fypシ #godprotects ♬ Queen of Disaster – ella