What is the worst flight you have ever been on?

[Spinneret]

Any juicy stories?

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thankfully, it turned out good.

Flying to West Coast out of Columbus. Almost immediately after take off, it became obvious that we were not heading west. The landing gear did not go up, and we had to circle the area for almost two hours while we practiced “Brace” a position that was deemed to be safest for the type of landing ahead of us. People in first class were shown where to stand to prevent panic leaving by us in coach. We were told what to take out of our pocket, like keys which could harm us on impact.
DH and I did have soul searching talk, enough for us to change our wills after the safe landing. It took us longer to get to Hawaii but what a great vacation we had.

The airline offered DH a $50 voucher for our troubles. I never got anything!

 

[BrianL]

Flying to Hawaii for my Sister's wedding. We had to get to the airport super early for the first flight, which went fine. Then it was supposed to be Dallas to Honolulu. Well, that's a haul, but we're getting there, about half-way over the Pacific. Then the dreaded call: "If there is a doctor or nurse on board, please identify yourself to the flight crew." Uh oh. A medical emergency would force us to turn back and land at San Diego. Okay, well, that happens I guess. We all waited on the plane as EMTs boarded and extricated the patient. Okay, let's get going - San Diego to Hawaii isn't too bad. Well, the thing is, we'd been having issues with some of hte lavatories on the plane. One was not working, but more and more were going out-of-order. Some clog in the tanks or something. Anyway, now we're halfway over the Pacific again, BUT, regulations state that they can't continue with no working retrooms, and now we have to go to LA as that's where the service hub is. So, now we're turning around again, and we land in LA and have to de-plane and they put us on a different aircraft, but we went from a 747 wide-body to a 737 or somesuch, where now evey single seat was packed! It's going on midnight - 24 hours of travel when you account for time differences. It was miserable.

 

[Moliphino]

I haven't had anything too bad, thankfully.
Coming back from Spain in 2018 we were flying from Madrid to Charlotte (then from Charlotte to Boston). Once we got closer to the US we could tell from the flight tracker in the entertainment system that we were being diverted somewhere. There was bad weather and tornadoes in the Charlotte area, so we had to go land in Philadelphia and just sit on the tarmac for a while, then fly to Charlotte. Luckily the weather also delayed our connecting flight, so we were able to make it. Then we got to Boston and found that my sister's suitcase did not make the connecting flight (even though she put it on the belt in Charlotte right next to mine, which did make it). AA did locate it and deliver it to our house the next day.

 

[sheilafri]

The scariest one I had was from San Diego to Omaha via Denver (old airport). It was my first flight back home with my infant daughter. There is always lots of turbulence coming down from the mountains. My husband leaned over and whispered to me, “ I don’t see an airport down there.” The mama tiger in me went bonkers as I couldn’t stand the idea of my baby being in an airplane crash. Well, it was fine. I don’t think even 40 years later DH realizes what a jerk he was.

 

[Meriweather]

Flying over to Barcelona from WA for a transatlantic cruise......got to JFK, changed planes.
About an hour out, the plane turned around because of some part that was defective.
Landed back at JFK, sat on the tarmac for about 3 hours......then on the way again.
Finally got to Barcelona, but too late to do the things we had planned for before the ship left (at least we made it before that had happened). The only part of Barcelona we saw was the drive from the airport to the cruise port.

DH's worst one was flying from WA to India. Stopped at Heathrow to change plans.
Got to India and no luggage. He was on a businness trip, so not good.
They suitcase had been left at Heathrow and they said he could pick it up on his way back!! 2 weeks later.
They gave him $100.....didn't go far. Got some underwear and toiletries. Had to have work clothes washed every night.

 

[kylenne]

Economy on US Air from JFK to FCO in 2012 to catch an Eastern Med cruise. We could have flown Air France but my idiot sister made us wait to book flights because her friend who was coming with us couldn't swing the airfare and by the time she did, US Air was all that was left. We ended up on a red eye that got into Rome the same day as the cruise. And had a very tight connection in PHL! With checked bags! The flight itself was a nightmare, packed in like sardines, I was in one of the middle seats of a four across with next to no leg room, and I got practically no sleep because pax kept getting up and chatting in the aisles and making a racket to the point the FAs had to make repeated announcements for people to go back to their seats. Lots of Italian students on holidays apparently thinking it was the club. Never seen anything like that on an overnight flight before or since. Thankfully we had no delays and got in on time, and our car service for the transfer to Civitavecchia was fantastic (I researched and booked it, is why). But it was a level of stress I have never had while traveling and underscored why I travel the way I do.

Mom learned to let me handle the planning logistics for big family trips, and I learned not to go on them if my sister is.

 

[kdonnel]

I have not really had a bad flight but have had bad results as the result of a flight.

The worse result was missing out on having our luggage for 4 days of a 7 day cruise. Since that event we have always traveled at least one day prior to a cruise to minimize the occurrence. I can say with confidence that a cruise is not nearly as fun without your luggage!

Another one was when our plane got hit by the catering truck. There was a 2 hour delay while the airline sent pictures of the damage to their operations department and Airbus who finally concluded we were good to go.


As for juicy stories....

We traveled a bunch during the height of covid. One flight really stands out.

We had already settled into our seats and were waiting for everyone else to get onboard the 767-300 from ATL-MCO. A young man asked the flight attendant where his seat was and the flight attendant pointed to the opposite side of the plane. There was a woman behind him who had been muttering under her breath about how Delta sucks and she is never going to fly this airline again. When she heard the guy ask about his seat she yelled out look at the row on the ceiling, are you stupid and can't read?

We were in the exit row/bulkhead row so the flight attendants would get right in front of us to let people pass. Two stood there and mentioned that the gate agent had a run in with that woman already and the flight attendant said she was going to speak with the purser.

In the meantime boarding finished. The woman in question ended up sitting about 5 rows back from us on the opposite side of the plane. This was during the mask on time of flying. She had removed her mask and the flight attendant asked her to put it back on. The woman started yelling that she was about to eat, how could she do that with her mask on. It went back and forth like this for a couple minutes when the purser appeared.

He informed the woman that she would not be flying on this flight today and needed to get off the plane.

Lots of yelling and screaming but she did not get up from her seat.

At this point I figured our flight was probably cancelled. We would all have to get off the plane so the police could pull her off the plane, the pilots would probably time out as a result, and we would need to reschedule for a flight the next morning as this was the last ATL-MCO flight of the day.

The flight attendant overheard me talking with my wife and said most of that was true, but the flight crew was not close to timing out, we would probably just end up going really late tonight.

The woman suddenly announced she wasn't going to stand for being treated like this and marched to the front of the plane. As she passed rows, people would stand up and follow her up the aisle so she could not return to her seat. We later learned that the majority of those who stood up were Delta employees flying for vacation.

We were so far back we didn't get to see first hand what happened but apparently she made it all the way to the door where an off duty flight attendant, off duty pilot, the pilots, and the two male flight attendants pushed her out the plane door into the jetway into the arms of the just arrived police in a short battle royale.

A flight attendant came running down the aisle with a trash bag, collected the woman's possessions from her seat and the overhead bin, gave it to the police, and the cabin door was closed. We ended up pushing back just a few minutes late.

During the flight, the flight attendants again gathered in our bulkhead/exit row area and exchanged photos and movies. Passengers in first class had airdropped pictures and videos of the fight to the flight attendants. One of the male flight attendants commented on how he didn't even know he had been hit in the face until he saw the video.

 

[RogueX]

Going on a school trip to Paris. We were a few hours into the flight when we hit severe turbulence, some overhead compartments came open, drink cart rolled down the aisle, just chaotic. I was reclined because it was an overnight flight and got thrown head first into the seat back tray. Imagine having TWA etched on your head from the impact.

Fortunately things calmed down and we did make it to Paris safely. I prefer my flights to be uneventful.

 

[nw6675]

1. Severe turbulence coming into O'Hare.

2. Drunk throwing up in front of me. You know how "s" rolls down hill? Same with vomit

 

[Kae]

2 years ago, I flew to Vegas to surprise my friend who lives there for her birthday. Southwest I go towards the back of the plane to get a window seat. 4 girls come back 2 sit next to me. The others wanted aisle seats. the girl next to me freaks out during take-off, like a ridiculous freak-out, arms flailing all over the place being super loud. the guys in the seats in front of us are firefighters. They try to calm her down. her friends tell them to f-off and mind their own business. I offer to switch seats with one of her friends, thinking maybe a friend on each side would help her; no thanks, the others all want aisle seats. Full flight so I have nowhere to move to. and she continues to freak out randomly. the landing was way worst, and it was a smooth landing.

I was so thankful I wasn't flying southwest back so I wouldn't see them on the flight home.

 

[Mokat76]

Really bad weather while landing in Charlotte NC. Just as the plane was getting near touchdown, a super strong wind gust hit the side of the plane and we tilted and drifted. Awesome aircrew hit the thrusters and took us around. Pretty sure we were seconds from crashing. Funny ending though. As we set up for round two and landed safely, the flight attendant said, “Welcome to Charlotte…again.”

 

[tvguy]

Flying from Houston to Sacramento on United with our kids who were about 6 and 10 at the time. We booked months in advance and got seat assignments together at the same time. We check in in Houston and they tell us that due to a change in equipment, a different type of plane, we no longer have seats together, but they they have put us together in 2 seats in 2 different places. Oh, and the flight is no longer non-stop, it will be stopping in Denver, but to stay on the plane because it will then resume on to Sacramento.
We land in Denver, and the local gate agent gets on board and gets on the PA and says that everyone going on to Sacramento needs to stay on the plane. Everyone but the 4 of us, and an unaccompanied child exits the plane. The Flight Attendants come back, carrying their personal luggage with them, and ask why we haven't gotten off the plane. We tell them because the Houston agent, and the agent that got on the plane when we landed said to stay on the plane if you are continuing on to Sacramento. One of the flight agents takes off in a huff and comes back and says "he's right". The flight attendants then throw their luggage down and begin cleaning up the plane. I gather that if a flight terminates in a city, a ground crew cleans the trash up, but if it is a continuation the flight attendants have to do it.
A few minutes later the woman who apparently was the head flight attendant, seeing the unaccompanied child getting into mischief, scolds me and says "aren't you going to supervise your child?" To which I responded "that isn't my child". Only THEN did the flight attendants realize they had an unaccompanied child on board, a child they were supposed to be monitoring all the way from Houston, and they didn't. And apparently the flight attendants are required to stay on board in this situation until the child can be "handed over" to the next flight crew.
So as we wait, my kids are watching them unload the luggage compartments of our plane and I hear......."EWWWWWW" from them and I look out and see a big white box marked "CAUTION: HUMAN REMAINS" being off loaded.

 

[barkley]

worst flight due to the circumstances-


early september 2005.

we were on a 'non stop' flight from california to orlando. we received an announcement during the flight that we were going to do a 'short unplanned landing'. we started to descend. through the clouds we started to see small bits of land......and water, LOTS of water.......and buildings surrounded if not submerged by water........and tarps- dozens and dozens of barely visible houses with roofs covered with remnants of blue tarps.....tarps with scrawled words that read HELP, RESCUE, BABIES, ELDERLY, NEAR DEATH.....DEAD


we landed at the louis armstrong new orleans airport-when so far as the world knew no commercial airplanes were landing. we landed in silence observing a sea of people huddled outside what was left of the airport. as many people as we had vacant seats loaded on the plane. we took to the air with audible sobbing throughout the plane. those of us already on the plane sobbing for those who had boarded/those who had boarded sobbing in joy for having been able to board.

my kids were 11 and 8 at the time-they will never forget.

 

[bcla]

Never had anything really bad. But I suppose one time was when I was going home on an international flight and we made it all the way out to the runway and turned around to go back to the gate when mechanics worked on the plane. But we were allowed back in the terminal where we were fed.

 

[RUDisney]

Worst flight was a puddle jumper from Scranton to Philadelphia. I was seated in the last row, at the window when a very obese woman sat next to me. She not only took up her seat, but part of the aisle and was partly on my lap, with the center armrest up. She was very sweet and apologetic, so I didn't complain. I was very happy when the plane landed and she got off of my lap.

Most eventful was a flight from Philadelphia to Punta Cana in about 2007. It was supposed to be a direct flight, but, although we got to the airport at 6:00 a.m. for an 8:00 flight and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so of course, there were problems with the landing gear. We were canceled at 11:30 and rebooked on a flight to Miami at 6:30 p.m. Since no other flights were going out that night to PC, we'd be put up by the airline in a hotel and flown business class the next day.

Our flight never took off until 8:30-9:00 and we never got to the hotel until after 1. We had no toiletries, since they were in our checked luggage. We slept in our underwear and brushed our hair with our fingers and our teeth with gum. The hotel wasn't an airport hotel, but in downtown Miami because there had been so many people stuck in Miami that night. We couldn't get a shuttle to the airport, again, due to the number of people stuck, so we took a cab for which we were reimbursed by the airline. By the time we got to PC, we were a very ragtag group. We HAD to purchase the photo with the island girls that they take when you first arrive. It's still on display in our house.

When we went to baggage claim, one of our bags was missing. It wasn't found until the day before we left. It arrived to our hotel very shredded. It was the one that had our toiletries. We purchased expensive ones at the hotel store to get us through the week and we had to get duct tape from the front desk to put our suitcase back together. That taught us that only carry ons are allowed when we fly.

We look at this as our funny travel story. My DS kept asking me why I wasn't yelling at anyone in the airport as we were delayed. I told him it was because I was on vacation and I was taking it as it came. Then, we talked about getting more with honey than vinegar.

 

[Magical2017]

Actually. none. The only thing I remember that was only mildly annoying was on an overnight flight to Italy. The babies and children were quiet but a group of seniors was rowdy all night and I could not sleep. I am a light sleeper, though.

When I was a kid I remember people smoking everywhere and thought it was gross.

 

[disneyseniors]

Our worst flight was on our very first time to WDW with our young kids. Our daughter was 5 and our son 7 y/o.
The flight down on Delta was great, and the kids loved flying.

Then on our return flight, the plane we were to fly on had problems, so they were flying a different plane down from Minnesota (the hub for Delta). We had a 12 hour wait!!! with 2 very tired kids. They gave us each a $7.00 voucher for food. I guess you know how much that covered? barely a sandwich.

Once the plane arrived and we boarded, we took off. We got to cruising altitude for the plane, and the captain did not get on the intercom and tell us to remove seat belts, the flight attendants would be around soon, etc, etc, like they usually do. It was quiet and the attendants did not get up from their seats.

All of a sudden, we dropped nose down for what seemed like a long time! People were screaming, yelling, and scared to death. It looked like something out of a horror movie. I was freaking too, but could not show it because I didn't want to scare the kids more than they were. When it was finally over, the captain finally came on and said that we had some turbulance. You think??? That's it. There was no announcement about bad weather or a rough flight at all, we just dove down! IF we had a warning, we could have been prepared. Afterwards we found out that we apparently were caught in the tail end of a tornado!!!

My daughter hid under my arm and under a blanket for the whole flight home to Mn. My son slept, though I don't know how he did it? He has not been affected by that horrible flight, but to this day, my daughter has to work through fear of flying. For years, when she was younger, she was very scared of any flying, and we did fly to Orlando several times.

Thankfully, since then, we have had no problems and always fly Delta.

 

[JaxDad]

I flew in and out of the old Toncontín airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras many years ago. It had crazy approach and departure paths due to its location in the mountains. We flew pretty close to some of those mountains. At one point during one of the many tight turns, I remember looking through the window across the aisle seemingly straight down to the ground, and the ground wasn’t too far down!

I flew in the jump seat on a FedEx flight into Tallahassee very early one morning. The radio beacon was located several miles north of the actual airport and apparently there were no better navigation aids at that time. It was very foggy on the surface, and the captain turned to me and asked if I knew the airport location. I stood up over his shoulder and pointed to where it should be just as some lights became visible. We were pretty close and still quite high, so he just pushed the yoke straight over and put us in a steep dive. There were various warnings going off, including an automated voice saying “Pull up! Pull up!” He leveled off and landed no problem.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

Nothing terrible as in scary - I once got the last stand-by seat on a flight home, my scheduled flight had been cancelled or something, don't remember why I was stand-by. Either way, I was so relieved to get the last seat - until I realized that the guy sitting next to me absolutely reeked. Thankfully it was a short flight, but he smelled soooooo bad I wished I hadn't gotten onto the flight after all.