Being crammed into a crowded airplane isn’t most people’s idea of a good time – but one passenger has declared the only way to make it better is to ban the removal of shoes and socks.
Sharing their thoughts on a post to Reddit, the user – who posted under MilitaryBaker – sparked a fierce debate over the matter.
Posting to the Unpopular Opinion subreddit, the disgruntled flyer wrote: ‘You should not be allowed to take off your shoes or socks on a plane.’
‘Planes are already one of the most horribly smelling places you can be,’ the user wrote.
They went on to acknowledged that although it is more ‘comfortable,’ some people’s feet are ‘literally intolerable.’
Posting to the Unpopular Opinion subreddit, the disgruntled flyer wrote: ‘You should not be allowed to take off your shoes or socks on a plane’ (stock image)
‘There was someone sitting behind me last night on my flight home and I almost nearly puked and I had to inhale the smell of their smelly feet for two hours.’
The post was flooded with comments from travelers sharing their own experiences.
‘I’ve had a similar experience, I spent the whole flight thinking of how to tell them to put their shoes back on. But also wasn’t sure exactly who the culprit was. And also probably would’ve had too much anxiety to say anything,’ one user explained.
‘Fresh washed socks on fresh washed feet under the seat in front of them, fine. Anything else, no,’ agreed another.
‘”Planes are already one of the most horribly smelling places”… what kind of flights are you taking?’ asked another.
‘I always think it stinks on flights too but it might be someone sitting near me, I don’t know.
‘I always wear a scarf that smells like clean laundry that I put over my nose if a smell is bothering me. One time I sat next to someone who had very dirty hair and smelled like dirty greasy hair. It was torture being stuck next to that for a whole flight cross country.’
While it may help you relax on board, flight attendants often urge followers never remove your shoes on a plane – even if you’re wearing socks – because you may accidentally step in ‘bodily fluids’ during a trip to the bathroom.
The post was flooded with comments from travelers sharing their own experiences
According to two different stewardesses, the floors on airplanes are extremely dirty – and they are even sometimes covered with urine.
‘It’s not water that you’re seeing on the bathroom floor sometimes,’ Leysha Perez, a Delta crew member, told Insider. ‘It’s probably bodily fluids that you’re walking in.’
‘For the love of all things, wear shoes,’ another attendant – who works for a major US airline, but whose identity was kept hidden due to privacy reasons – agreed.
‘Walking throughout the aircraft barefoot or even with socks is disgusting.’
Another woman named Danielle, who works for Emirates, went viral on TikTok last October when she shared a similar sentiment to her account, while listing the five things she would never do if she was traveling as a passenger.
Her top thing? Going to ‘the bathroom without any shoes on.’
She shared: ‘It may look like water on the floor but trust me guys, it’s really not. I am sure you can guess what it is.’
Other things on Danielle’s list included falling asleep with your face against the window – since ‘hundreds, if not thousands,’ have probably touched it before you – touching things in the bathroom with your bare hands, and using the seat tray without sanitizing it.
She also warned against ‘joining the mile high club.’
