A TikTok video listing common passenger habits that flight attendants say can cause problems during flights drew more than 2,300 likes after being posted on September 13, 2026.
According to the video, crossing your legs while seated restricts blood flow and compresses the femoral vein, which over the course of a flight can lead to muscle stiffness, ankle swelling, and joint fatigue. They recommended keeping both feet flat on the floor, shifting body weight periodically, and doing ankle circles to keep blood moving.
They reasoned that closing the vent cut off a passenger's only direct source of moving air when ground climate systems ran at reduced capacity, and suggested keeping the vent open at low flow rather than closing it fully.
Removing shoes immediately after sitting down was another habit the creator flagged as potentially problematic. The creator said feet and ankles swell during flights due to prolonged immobility and fluid shifts, making shoes that fit easily during boarding difficult to put back on by landing.
They described this less of an etiquette issue and more of a safety concern, since struggling to force swollen feet into shoes during an emergency evacuation could slow down an entire row. The TikToker suggested loosening laces or wearing slip-on shoes rather than removing footwear entirely.
The original poster also addressed pulling a blanket or jacket up over a buckled seatbelt. They say this can prevent flight attendants from visually confirming a passenger is secured during turbulence, potentially requiring crew to wake a sleeping passenger or disturb their belongings to check. They recommend buckling the seatbelt over the blanket so the buckle remains visible.
The TikToker described storing passports, phones, or boarding passes in the seatback pocket as another common mistake, since the deep fabric pocket can be easy to forget about during the rush of deplaning. Flight attendants routinely find phones and passports left behind in seatback pockets after flights, and recommend keeping such items in a single pouch that stays on a passenger's body instead.
Commenters raised their own concerns about several of the tips. One noted that limited legroom makes crossing legs difficult in the first place. They wrote, "You can't cross your legs, there's no room. I'm lucky to get my legs in at all."
Another commenter questioned why flight attendants did not share these tips more openly, writing, "Isn't it unfair saying that the flight attendands [sic] knows all this and they don't tell u."
A different commenter pushed back on the air vent advice, citing a personal medical condition. They wrote, "I have severe dry eyes condition, the air vents do not help at all with tha dryness. Best to shut it for me."
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the flight attendant expertise cited in this video, the medical and safety claims made. Readers seeking health or safety guidance should consult qualified medical or aviation professionals. The details above reflect the TikTok video as shared by @cops.compilation2..
