Passenger Misses Connecting Flight After Rule Break, Internet Furious

A post accusing inconsiderate flyers of causing a missed connecting flight due to their refusal to follow carry-on bag rules has gone viral on Reddit, reigniting debate about airline policies and passenger etiquette.

The post, shared by u/TigerBarFly in the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit, has garnered 36,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments since it was posted on June 9. Titled “Missed Connecting Flight Because Entitled People Thought ‘All Bags Must be Checked’ Didn’t Apply to Them,” the post included a photo of several carry-on sized bags in the aisle of a plane beside a flight staff member.

“I was on a flight and we were already delayed because the inbound flight had mechanical issues,” the poster wrote. “The gate attendants announced multiple times that ‘all carry on’s like duffle bags and rolling luggage must be gate checked.’ Everyone was allowed one carry on.”

Despite the repeated announcements, some passengers disregarded the instructions. “I watched as multiple people pushed by the flight attendant and say ‘no, it’s not a checked bag’ while getting on our (tiny) airplane,” the poster said. “Note multiple had the little red tag clearly dangling off their bag. Well, lo and behold, after the jetway was pulled back, the flight attendants carry five bags up to the front during a final safety check.”

As a result, the aircraft was further delayed. “So, then we have to wait for them to bring the jetway back to the plane so they can take the five large bags and stow them under the plane. Our already 30 minute delayed flight was delayed another 30 minutes,” the poster wrote. “There were multiple people that missed connecting flights, including myself. Some people literally don’t believe any rules apply to them.”

Nick Leighton, an etiquette expert and co-host of the Were You Raised by Wolves? podcast, told Newsweek: “It’s definitely confusing why the aircraft door was closed before all baggage was stowed. Definitely feels like the airline missed some opportunities to enforce the rules and then make the boarding process more efficient.”

Leighton added: “That said, this is a textbook example of entitlement. Carry-on rules exist for a reason and deliberately ignoring the rules is both rude and inconsiderate to everyone else who is.”

The frustration voiced in the post comes as there were said to be around 2,640 flight delays into, within or out of the United States at the time of reporting on Tuesday, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) monitors such delays closely. “The Department investigates all extended tarmac delays,” the DOT states. Airlines must not allow domestic flights to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours, or international flights for more than four hours, without providing passengers the opportunity to deplane —with exceptions for safety, security, or air traffic control reasons, according to the DOT.

‘The Amount of Entitlement Is Absurd’

In response to the viral post, fellow Reddit users largely supported the original poster’s frustration.

U/Cyanide_Cheesecake wrote: “People doing this should be put off the plane,” while u/MelonElbows added: “I hope they got tossed off the flight.”

Others highlighted how passengers circumvent rules. U/Independent_Lab3872 commented: “I’ve seen people put the gate check tag on their bag and then proceed to carry it onto the plane and escaped the notice of the FA’s.”

U/Zerdalias noted: “I’ve also seen people get the gate check tag and then once past the ticket check and on the jet bridge, they remove it.”

Flight crew perspectives also emerged in the discussion. U/Kitchen-Celery8374, who identified as a flight attendant, commented: “The amount of entitlement is absurd… to be fair it was also the gate agents’ fault for not proactively gate checking bags as well.”

Some users criticized the airlines themselves for policies that encourage such conflicts.

U/RapidHedgehog asked: “What the f*** is the point of the security checkpoint if you have to check the bags AGAIN at the gate? What a massive waste of time.”

U/PipsqueakPilot weighed in, noting: “Just going to say that this is in large part the airlines fault. They force everyone to use a carry on—which results in this. How often do you hear the call that overhead is full and free checked bags? Well, if you let us check the bag from the start without an extra fee none of this s*** would happen.”

U/deepbluenothings agreed, saying: “It’s 100 percent the airlines fault, they created this system and profit from this system. They could easily make checking bags free, they could have better systems to avoid checked bags being lost, and most importantly they could add more storage at the cost of a few seats. Yea people could be better but the system is set up in a way that encourages this behavior.”

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via Reddit.

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