Flight attendant calls out passengers who queue for the bathroom: ‘Lining up makes it worse’

Flight attendant calls out passengers who queue for the bathroom: ‘Lining up makes it worse’

There’s no need to skip to the loo when there’s a line.

Lining up for the bathroom might seem like proper airplane protocol, but this seemingly standard practice is actually both inconvenient and potentially hazardous, flight experts have revealed.

Rich Henderson, a flight attendant who runs the Two Guys on a Plane blog with his husband Andrew, claims that the seat is paradoxically the best place to wait for the lavatory as it lessens congestion.

“Lining up makes it worse because everyone thinks there’s always going to be a line,” the air authority told USA Today while discussing airplane bathroom etiquette and other flight tips. “I promise there will be a lull in the bathroom traffic. [Flight attendants] have to go as well.”

“I don’t think people realize it’s not quite safe to just be wandering around an airplane,” cautioned flight attendant Rich Henderson while warning of the potential risks of lining up for the airplane lavatory (pictured). saulich84 – stock.adobe.com
“I don’t think people realize it’s not quite safe to just be wandering around an airplane,” cautioned flight attendant Rich Henderson while warning of the potential risks of lining up for the airplane lavatory (pictured). saulich84 – stock.adobe.com
Waiting in your seat to use the bathroom can paradoxically mean you can use it sooner, the flight experts claimed. âøüÃÆÃ⬠Úþýõò – stock.adobe.com
Waiting in your seat to use the bathroom can paradoxically mean you can use it sooner, the flight experts claimed. âøüÃÆÃ⬠Úþýõò – stock.adobe.com

He added, “There’s usually a gap in there that we can jump in, so there should be one for passengers as well.”

Rich explained that if everyone waited in their seat, there would overall be less traffic around the lavatory.

In fact, congregating around the bathroom is not only inconsiderate but also potentially dangerous as it obstructs passengers and crew in the event of an emergency.

“Anything can happen in the blink of an eye on an airplane,” the crewmember explained. “I don’t think people realize it’s not quite safe to just be wandering around an airplane.”

Andrews chimed in, “post-9/11 there’s a lot of rules with people congregating on an airplane.”

In other words, an ill-timed bladder evacuation could hinder its airplane counterpart.

Strolling about the aircraft can be particularly dangerous during severe turbulence as it leaves passengers susceptible to falling down or toppling into hard objects and hurting themselves, other experts have warned.

Other taboo times to use the lavatory are when the flight is on the ground, the seatbelt sign is on and during inflight food and beverage service.

“I don’t think people understand how heavy that cart is,” Andrew explained. “There’s not a lot of space. If we don’t have empty seats or we’re not near a cutout to get you around us, getting you around the galley cart is not always easy.”

And while flight attendants are more than happy to move the trolley to accommodate flyers, it’s better for everyone if they put nature’s call on hold if possible, he claimed.