The In-Flight Behavior That Is Landing You On Flight Attendants' Ignore List

Most airplane and airport rules of etiquette should be a no-brainer by now. Cases in point: Wait your turn in line, don't block the aisles, keep your socks and shoes on, leave the smelly food and drink behind, keep the noise and your voice down, clean up after yourself, don't bug your neighbors, treat the flight crew and other passengers with respect and kindness, and ultimately, just be a good human. "If you are pleasant, in return, you will always receive the best hospitality," flight attendant Emily Witkop told Yahoo Travel. "[Unfriendly passengers] will receive good service too, but we are less likely to go out of our way for people who are rude to us," she warned. 

Alas, there is one cardinal in-flight sin that a passenger might be unwittingly committing and while it probably won't get them kicked off the plane, it could instantly land them on the flight attendants' ignore list.  

Call button enthusiasts, beware! According to veteran flight attendant and author of "Diary of a Flight Attendant" Marika Mikusova, repeatedly pressing the call button is not only pesky and annoying but a surefire way to get ignored. "Abusing the call bell will definitely lead to you being ignored, so please, don't. You never know if you will need medical help, and we won't either, as we will deliberately ignore you," she confessed to Express. 

It should be noted, however, that utilizing the call button is always preferable over giving them a tap on the shoulder, snapping your fingers, or worse, tugging on their clothes. "Not okay," Mikusova explained. "Press the call bell or even better — come to the galley yourself." Additionally, ordering flight attendants around and treating them as your own personal servant is a no-no — while there's nothing wrong with asking for help, remember that these people are in a position of authority on a plane.

So when is it appropriate to use the call button? In the case of an emergency, flight attendants welcome you to press it. And many flight attendants agree that there are other, less emergent times when it's A-okay to press the button as well. "I personally tell passengers it's okay to ring the call button if they want another drink or snack. I'm not one of those flight attendants that says a passenger can only ring the call button if they're dying or bleeding," flight attendant Aimee LaMay told Conde Nast Traveler. 

But that's pretty much where the leniency ends. Don't even think about ringing a flight attendant to pick up your personal trash outside of the designated trash collecting time, as they (understandably) use gloves before taking any garbage. And while we're at it, ringing the bell in hopes that the airline flight attendant can resolve a silly disagreement between passengers is also annoying, so do your best to talk it out.