There might be no worse place and time to get into a squabble with your spouse than on an airplane just before take-off. An aircraft leaves almost no room to get away from the source of your ire and frustration.
This uncomfortable situation is only compounded when there’s a baby involved.
Flight attendant Savannah (@savannah0191) says she had to physically remove a husband from his wife’s vicinity. In a TikTok that’s been viewed over 1 million times, she explained what went wrong.
It all started with a crying baby. Savannah approached the parents and asked if she could do anything to make their life easier. She says the wife replied, “You can move my husband to a different seat.”
Though the woman purportedly said it with a smile, when Savannah said she could move her husband, the passenger said, “Please, no, seriously do.”
Then it was time to confront him. In this moment, things can get dicey. It’s flight crew like Savannah’s duty to consider the safety of everyone on board, not just the fighting couple.
Fortunately, the man relocated with no resistance and spent the duration of the flight about 10 rows behind his wife and child. After he moved, Savannah says the woman fell asleep.
When asked if she felt unsafe, she replied, “Oh, it’s nothing like that, he just gets on my nerves.”
Flying is stressful for many of us. There’s the uncertainty of travel—weather delays, traffic delays, luggage delays—plus the exhaustion many experience. That combination can make for agitated passengers. It’s the flight crew’s job to do whatever it takes to make for a safe, ideally enjoyable, flying experience for everyone.
“In the U.S. airline cabin crews are trained to cope with every eventuality, from health issues to accidents, criminal acts to drunken or uncooperative passengers. It is their job to keep people calm and everyone safe,” reports Outpost Magazine.
If two people are quarreling, but not badly enough to involve the Air Marshall or get out the plastic handcuffs, just enough to make everyone around them uncomfortable, there are techniques that can be used. Speaking calmly and in a low voice can be a helpful first step. It reminds the agitated passenger or passengers that they’re in a very public place. There’s also listening to the complaints of both sides and empathizing with both without taking a specific side.
This is the path that Savannah chose when she engaged both passengers with compassion, a little humor, and a tangible solution. She recognized that in the moment, nothing would be resolved. So why not let the couple cool down apart from one another?
Everyone gets annoyed with their partners from time to time. But the internet came out swinging: “See that’s a kind woman bc one thing about me… I’m gonna make my husband feel unsafe if he’s bothering me,” said maasolarangel.
Then mommymelly103 said what was on many women’s minds: “Traveling with a man who is a romantic partner is EXHAUSTING. I refuse to do it anymore.”
Packobsessed offered a counterpoint, writing, “Traveling in stressful. Traveling with a baby in stressful. Traveling with baby I almost wanted to kill my husband by the end of every trip.”
BoardingArea reached out to Savannah via TikTok direct message and with a comment on the post. We will update this if she gets back to us.
@savannah0191 ♬ original sound – Savannah
