Flight attendant reveals the holiday hotspot with the worst passengers: 'It was just absolute chaos'
Frequently, it involves calming down mid-air meltdowns and handling passengers who've had one (or more) too many before take-off.
One flight attendant has shared a harrowing story of an altercation that took place at 30,000 feet – declaring it the most traumatic flight of her career.
It involved three groups on stag dos – outnumbering the four members of cabin crew.
'It was just absolute chaos, they were screaming,' 32-year-old Kristina Galvydyte told The Telegraph.
'Imagine a night out in any British town at midnight on a Friday. It was like that.'
Of course, this wasn't a post-boozing brawl spilling out of a pub – it was mid-flight, on the way from Edinburgh to Alicante, in southeastern Spain.
She shared that one group on board became 'verbally abusive' after cracking into their duty-free drinks – something that is prohibited.
Following this, a fracas began when another group 'took offence', according to The Telegraph.
Kristina witnessed her colleague stand between the groups while she was calling for assistance from the cockpit.
And although the intervention worked, tension was high for the remainder of the flight.
Police boarded the aircraft when it landed in Spain.
'It was the worst flight I ever had,' said Kristina.
The incidents staff are forced to deal with are driving many to leave the industry.
Ms Galvydyte worked for a UK-based airline – which she has not named – before quitting three years ago.
She revealed that a friend still in the role wants a change, blaming 'the behaviour of passengers'.
This incident from 2024 is an example of those that cabin crew are forced to deal with – and often police get involved when the flight lands
And it's not surprising.
Other unsavoury incidents she shared include being vomited on after a woman who'd drunk beer and taken medication vomited across her.
Another time, a drunk passenger asked her to strip.
She remembers colleagues working on a flight where a passenger overdosed from taking cocaine – which left staff traumatised and in need of compassionate leave.
Flights to certain destinations are worse than others for disruptive behaviour, says Kristina, who lists Ibiza, the Canary Islands (Tenerife in particular) and Turkey as having potential for 'horrendous' shifts.
And she adds that women can be just as bad as men: 'They target your appearance, your accent – they observe you. It was a woman who made me cry.'
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