When I returned from San Francisco two weeks ago, I witnessed something that I'll bet not many of you have seen. I actually saw flight attendants get very angry.

This is what happened.... we landed at Chicago O'Hare, and after we hit the ground and slowed, we continued to "drive" along for probably 15 minutes. We would move for a couple of minutes, then stop for a couple of minutes, move for a couple of minutes, then stop for a few minutes......... my seat mate said "This is a huge airport, so I guess we landed really far from the terminal."

Suddenly, the lights inside the plane came on, and we stopped. Immediately, a group that was traveling together, probably 6-8 people, jumped up and opened the overheads, pulled out their bags, and headed down the isle in their quest to be first to the door. They were hurrying and moving quickly. BUT, we still hadn't arrived at the terminal.

At that point, two flight attendants came FLYING out of the back of the plane, shouting "NO!!! GET BACK IN YOUR SEATS!! STAY IN YOUR SEATS UNTIL WE TELL YOU YOU CAN GET UP!" They snatched the bags from the passengers and threw them back in the overheads (the plane was moving again). The passengers dropped back in their seats, looking mortified. The attendants then made a quick pass through the plane, sort of glaring at everyone. They looked VERY displeased.

Everyone sat meekly in their seats until arrival at the gate, at which time it seemed that nobody wanted to be the first person to stand up! : )

Can you blame them? If the plane stopped short a bunch of those idiots could have been hurt - never mind the damage they could do to others with their flying luggage.

It never amazes me how stupid some people can be. IMHO, folks that can't follow simple rules should stay on the ground and not endanger others.

The passengers were idiots.
The flight attendents were doing their job.
They had every reason to look very displeased.

Welcome to the world of travel in the US.

Passengers should really wait until the seatbelt signs go off before they unbuckle their seat belts and get ready to leave the plane.

I was once hit on the head by a heavy briefcase because a businessman couldn't wait and the plane gave a sudden lurch just as he was removing his briefcase from the bin above my head.

Another time several passengers got up while we were still on the runway and then the plane lurched to a stop. Those people all went flying down the aisle and landed in a heap on top of one another. Luckily there were no children in that heap.

Vicki,

Are you saying that the flight attendants were wrong to "lose it"?

The flights attendants were absolutely correct in their behavior.

The passengers were at fault. You do not unbuckle your seat belt until the seatbelt sign goes off.

The passengers who charged up the aisle were rude idiots!

That is not losing it.

The main job of an FA is to ensure the safety of all passengers. Opening overhead bins and walking down the aisles during a landing is dangerous to ALL passengers.

I, too, have been hit in the head from morons opening the overhead bins before the plane has come to a stop.

Once, on an Olympic flight from Athens to JFK, an FA SCREAMED at a man for opening the overhead bin before the plane had arrived at the gate. SCREAMED!! Too bad he was yelling in Greek because I would have loved to have known what he was saying. LOL!!!

I once heard a United FA, on a flight from Seattle to Narita, tell and Asian woman that she was stupid. GASP!!!

Now, that is losing it.

Thin

The strident tone was the price of these passengers' absolute idiocy. Um, you aren't at the terminal, so what exactly do you think you're doing getting your luggage. I hope they were at least running late for a connecting flight, and not simply a "we're so much more important than everyone, we have to be the first ones off".

janiekins, of course I'm not saying the FAs were "wrong". Do you think I'm stupid?

I'm just telling the story because I've never seen FAs lose their cool. Good to see them get tough when necessary.

Wow, Thin. I would agree that a FA telling a passenger she was stupid is definitely "losing it."

This is one of the more illogical human behaviors, it must be wired in our lizard brain to leap out of any restraint as soon as physically possible, even if doing so doesn't actually win you anything. Why do people need their luggage out of the overhead bin RIGHT AWAY?? Why can't they wait a few lousy minutes to stand up? I've had tight connections before, everyone has, but don't we all realize that there's nowhere to go until they open the doors? Idiots. Poor FA's, I don't envy them their jobs.

Vicki, why are you so defensive? Of course I do not think you are stupid!

Your posted a topic "I saw the flight attendants lose it" and I asked you a question.

Have a nice day.

There is a huge safety issue. The passengers did not obey proper procedure and put themselves at risk.

Not to mention the issue of possible hijacking when a group of passengers suddenly stands up and grabs their baggage.

The FA were doing their job and should be commended. It cannot be easy having to fly now.