Disbelief Over Reason Passenger Keeps Calling Crew During 12-Hour Flight

A post about a passenger's frustrating experience on a long-haul flight due to the inconvenient placement of a button panel on a plane has sparked discussion on Reddit. The passenger, who did not share their name and location, told Newsweek that the incident took place during a 12-hour flight with KLM, the Dutch airline, on a Boeing 777 aircraft. The flight was traveling from Seoul, South Korea, to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. In a Reddit post under the username u/Chilis1, the passenger shared an image of the button panel and described how it was located right next to their leg, leading to multiple accidental activations. "The buttons on this airplane are right next to my leg so I've accidentally turned on the reading light about 10 times, waking my baby twice, as well as accidentally calling the attendant a few times," the caption shared with the post read. The passenger was seated in economy class, according to a later comment.

While this particular complaint centers around a Boeing 777, it is not uncommon for passengers to encounter similar issues on different aircraft and highlights a need for airlines to consider passenger ergonomics more carefully in their cabin designs. The Reddit post underscores the limited space that comes with plane seats which probably made it even harder to avoid touching this button panel. Apart from the inconvenience, not having enough legroom on a plane can have an impact on health, noted a January 2019 study published in the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. The study, conducted among Spanish adult plane passengers, explained: "The increase of economy class airline seats is necessary because immobility on airplane flights can develop different pathologies, such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism known as economy class syndrome. "The increase in size (body mass and stature) and changing proportions of the human body over the past few decades should be considered in the ergonomic design of economy class airline seats," the study added.

'Really Dumb'

The passenger from the Reddit post told Newsweek that they were trying to keep their baby asleep as long as possible. "But I think at least once every 20 to 30 minutes we would hit our legs off the reading light button, shining a bright light onto us in the otherwise dark cabin," they said. "A couple of times, it woke our baby up and annoyed the baby next to us, too. And a few times the staff would appear suddenly asking if they could help us. I then realized I had once again hit the cabin service button," the passenger said. The Reddit user noted that the flight attendants were understanding and accommodating. "The staff couldn't have been nicer the whole trip, so definitely weren't annoyed with us. I would guess we were moving around a lot more than the average passenger because of the baby, so I don't think other people on the plane were having the same amount of difficulty with the button as us," the passenger said. The post sparked debate among other Redditors, with some expressing empathy while others shared frustrations about similar experiences. "Annoying. I've had that happen to me too," said u/msackeygh. "S***** design. I bet someone made a mint deciding to put the buttons there..," said u/jeanettem67. "I'm sure the attendant also loves this plane design, this seems really dumb," u/Ohmannothankyou wrote. Redditor u/CalGoldenBear55 commented: "I was on a flight yesterday where the controllers were on the top of the armrest. I kept changing the channel and volume of the guy in the middle until he said something. Bad design." Another commenter, u/smashbrosislit_2 said: "Reminds me of a time when I flew where the same buttons were on the armrests. Of course, they had to make the buttons sensitive so when you lay your arm on the armrest the light would turn on or send a flight attendant over." Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com and your story could be featured on Newsweek.