In this month’s "Dear Eugene," we answer the question of what to do if you’re flying and stuck in a smelly onboard situation.
Inspired by our intrepid founder, Eugene Fodor, Dear Eugene is a monthly series in which we invite readers to ask us their top travel questions. Each month, we’ll tap travel experts to answer your questions with the hopes of demystifying the more complicated parts of travel. Send your questions to [email protected] for a chance to have them answered in a future story.
Dear Eugene, I was recently stuck sitting next to a really smelly passenger on my flight. I didn’t want to be rude so I didn’t say say anything but I tried my best to discreetly hold my nose. What can I do if this happens again?
Modern jetliners are amazing machines, transporting up to several hundred passengers seven miles high between cities—often traversing oceans or multiple continents during their journeys. They’re also enclosed spaces with all those people packed in together—people with different perspectives on hygiene habits.
Anybody who travels enough will eventually encounter a bad smell onboard a flight from a variety of sources. Sometimes, it’s a matter of personal hygiene. In other cases, it’s an overly flatulent passenger. And on occasion, the offending smell might not be coming from a human passenger, but from a pet or service animal. But what recourse do passengers have when they find themselves stuck on a plane with a malodorous cohort?
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Should You Get a Flight Attendant Involved?
Christopher Elliott, a journalist and founder of the consumer advocacy nonprofit Elliott Advocacy, says yes—in some situations.
“If you’re near a strong odor, my advice would be to move,” says Elliot. “If you can relocate to a different seat, that’s the best solution.”
On airlines with assigned seating, if the boarding door is still open, the assistance of airline ground staff is typically required. Passengers can alert a flight attendant, who can request assistance from an airport agent. If there’s another seat available, the easiest solution is simply to move seats—with the help of airline staff—so they know you’re still onboard when they do their headcount
Rai, a flight attendant for a major U.S. airline who asked that we only use a first name, prefers that passengers come forward while the aircraft is still boarding.
“It’s always easiest to address these situations if they’re brought to our attention before boarding is completed,” she explains. “We simply have more options available to help before the aircraft has left the gate.”
It’s also important to involve crewmembers because they may need to gather more information about the situation—particularly if the flight is fully booked. Airlines’ contracts of carriage (the document that outlines when airlines can refuse to transport passengers after they have bought a ticket) generally allow them to deny boarding to passengers who are offensive or annoying to other passengers, and that includes smelling exceptionally bad—as long as a disability or medical condition isn’t the underlying cause of the odor.
On full flights, passengers giving off offensive odors may be denied boarding if another passenger complains—so be prepared for that possibility. Airlines will generally rebook such passengers onto later flights to give them time to address the odorous issue, although historically, these situations tend to escalate. A family removed from an American Airlines flight in 2019 later sued, claiming religious discrimination was the cause. Another passenger denied boarding on a United Airlines flight in 2018 also sued, claiming racial discrimination.
Passengers whose odors are the result of a disability or medical condition can’t be denied boarding for that reason. On flights without alternate seating, passengers who are unable to sit next to such a passenger would typically be offered a later flight. It’s also important to alert a crewmember if the odor is due to a substance in the cabin that might be considered a biohazard, such as bodily fluids.
How Responsible Is the Airline?
Airlines certainly want the cabins of their aircraft to be comfortable, and they have a duty to passengers to ensure that everyone onboard is in compliance with their contract of carriage.
“Airlines have a responsibility to screen passengers,” explains Elliot. “Flight attendants [and ground staff] are already trained to spot the signs of intoxication, and the whiff test is part of that.”
Flight attendants are also trained to be alert to passengers who might be uncomfortable but are unable to discreetly get their attention. This is also for a variety of reasons—crews are trained to identify victims of human trafficking, whether a passenger is uncomfortable because of the size of the passenger next to them or is exhibiting early symptoms of an emergency medical situation. Getting a crewmember’s attention as soon as possible and alerting them to the situation is the most effective way to get resolution.
But what about situations beyond the control of the airline but not in violation of the contract of carriage, like a flatulent passenger or a baby with a full diaper? Unfortunately, some situations “come with the territory” of being in an enclosed space.
Alternatives may also not be attractive. Ardy Robertson, a retired educator living in Alaska and Arizona, recalls a situation on a flight between Anchorage and Seattle some years ago where the passenger next to her hadn’t showered for some time. It was a full flight, and she was sitting in her favorite exit row window seat, so she took to her scarf to mask the smell for the three-and-a-half-hour flight.
Other Malodorous Situations Onboard
Perfumes and fragrances can be another annoyance onboard, as can animal fur and dander from a pet or a service animal in the cabin, but those situations can also be complicated. Airlines have to equally accommodate passengers with service animals and those with allergies, and the most common solution is to seat passengers with animal allergies as far as possible from passengers traveling with service animals.
Perfumes and other fragrances—such as nail polish or other cosmetics can be difficult to locate the source of unless passengers are seen applying them onboard. In these situations, passengers may have to politely request that the passengers using them refrain from doing so if they have sensitivities. The flight crew can help mediate in situations where there’s contention, but passengers using odoriferous cosmetics should endeavor to do so discreetly or wait until they’ve reached their destination.
Food can be a stickier subject—especially with U.S. airlines no longer serving substantial free meals on shorter domestic flights. Peanuts are an allergen that can cause a life-threatening allergic reaction in a small percentage of the population, and most airlines have stopped serving them onboard for this reason. But what if a passenger brings peanuts or peanut products as a snack? Flight attendants can request that they not consume them inflight.
At the end of the day, a little understanding goes a long way—both on the part of passengers who might need to be considerate of the smells they give off (whether from lack of personal hygiene or smelly food), or on the part of those who would otherwise be annoyed by such odors. As much as we might hope for one, none of us are guaranteed an annoyance-free day, on or off the plane.