How air-itating: Brits reveal crying children as their biggest pet peeve on planes
- Unruly children, drunk passengers and armrest hoggers are all bothering Brits
- Those aged 55+ are most annoyed by unruly kids on a plane
Heading on holiday is the perfect time to relax, unwind and take a break - but jetting off to sunnier climates isn’t always plane sailing. New research has revealed the biggest pet peeves passengers experience while flying - and it’s bad news for those travelling with children, or those who enjoy a drink in the sky.
Research from Go.Compare Travel insurance has found that unruly or crying children top the list of in-flight annoyances for Brits, closely followed by drunk passengers (21%) and people hogging the armrest (20%).*
|
Travel pet peeve |
% * |
|
|
1 |
Unruly children |
27% |
|
2 |
Drunk passengers |
21% |
|
3 |
The person next to me using my armrest |
20% |
|
4 |
Having to wait to use the toilet on the plane |
19% |
|
5 |
A poor-quality in-flight meal |
18% |
|
6 |
People who take up all the space in overhead lockers |
18% |
|
7 |
A passenger snoring |
15% |
|
8 |
People who clap when the plane lands |
14% |
|
9 |
A chatty stranger sitting in the next seat |
13% |
|
10 |
Rude cabin crew |
12% |
The research also found that those aged 55 and over are the least tolerant of noisy or crying children (33%), as well as being the most stressed out by stag and hen dos (13%).
Meanwhile, younger travellers are the age group most ticked off about waiting to use the aeroplane toilet, with 21% of those aged 18-24 and 21% of those aged 25-34 saying they find this irritating. Younger generations are also most bothered by bad in-flight meals, with both 18-24s (20%) and 25-34s (21%) more annoyed than the national average (18%).
Rhys Jones, spokesperson for Go.Compare Travel insurance said: "Flying can be stressful at the best of times, but these results show that there are a number of seemingly little things that can become a big pain. Whether it’s a chatty stranger, a crying child, or an armrest battle, these annoyances can really affect the experience of flying.
“While we can’t control the behaviour of other passengers, something we can do is prepare and protect against unexpected disruptions like delays, lost luggage, or cancellations. With the right travel insurance in place, you’ll have peace of mind that should the worst happen, your policy can provide you with some financial protection.”
To learn more about which travel insurance policy is right for you, visit: https://www.gocompare.com/travel-insurance/.
Contact Information
Rosie Johns
Notes to editors
Notes
*The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2000 UK Nationally Representative Consumers, aged 18+. The data was collected between 18.03.2025 - 21.03.2025. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
For further information please contact:
Lynsey Walden or Rubie Barker at Go.Compare on lynsey.walden@gocompare.com or Rubie@fdcomms.co.uk
Keep up-to-date with Go.Compare on X (Twitter); @GoCompare
About Go.Compare
Go.Compare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.
It does not charge people to use its services and does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. Go.Compare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.
When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. It is this approach to comparing products that secured the company an invitation to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) in 2008, and it is still the only comparison site to be a member of this organisation.
Go.Compare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest and works with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.
Go.Compare is part of Future Plc and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
More information can be found here www.gocompare.com or here https://www.futureplc.com/brands/