Is a friendly touch on the arm to get a person’s attention too much? One flight attendant thinks so, and it “ruined” this passenger’s week.
In a viral video, TikToker Lucie Fink (@luciebfink) records herself while having what appears to be a cola aboard a plane. In the on-screen caption she explains, “The flight attendant passed my seat with the drinks cart and I thought she skipped our row so I touched her arm gently and said, ‘Sorry, when you get a chance can I trouble you—’ but she cut me off and said back to me loudly, ‘DO NOT touch the flight attendants.’”
Fink says everyone then turned to look. She admits that the worker was right and she shouldn’t have touched the woman, but the interaction left her “spiraling” because “interactions like these haunt me for years.”
In the video’s description, she indicates that she has social anxiety and feels she was publicly humiliated.
‘She should not have spoken to you like that’
Viewers in the comments section felt the flight attendant could’ve handled the situation better.
“Ex-flight attendant here,” user Kelley said. “She should not have spoken to you like that, there are gentler ways to express she didn’t want to be touched.”
“As a flight attendant, I’m so sorry she handled it that way!” user Rikke Einarsen wrote. “Not to excuse her behaviour, but you were probably the last drop in a very overfilled glass. Do not carry this with you,” she added followed by three blue heart emoji.
User Arrington said, “As a flight attendant, we get touched ALL the time and it can be really overwhelming. Still, she wasn’t right for snapping at you.”
What happens if you touch a flight attendant?
In response to a Quora post posing this question, a contributor who says they worked as a cabin attendant for Lufthansa German Airlines for 30 years wrote, “Probably you mean to say to grab his or her attention. Not much happens, but it is not appreciated.”
They note that the best way to get a flight attendant’s attention is to press the call button or speak to the worker directly.
Other contributors noted that the consequences could be more severe.
In this case, contributor Phil Henning says, “[The flight attendant] may say ‘knock it off’ or could elevate to the Captain and they could have police awaiting the errant passenger upon landing. Depending on the severity the passenger could be charged with ‘Interfering with a F[l]ight Crew’ member under Federal law… [The passenger] could likely face permanent banishment from that airline.”
Other unhappy airline passengers
Fink isn’t the only flier to go viral recently for a bad experience. The Mary Sue covered two American Airlines passengers who had trouble with in-flight meal service. One says she was the only Black passenger in first class and the meals suddenly ran out when it was her turn to be served. Viewers who work in the industry say there was definitely more food onboard.
@luciebfink Put a fork in me!!! I’m DONE ? I’m one of those people for whom touch just comes naturally. A hand on the arm, a quick shoulder squeeze—it’s how I show warmth and connection. But I’m learning not everyone likes that. #travel #flighttok #airplanetiktok #spiraling #socialanxiety #publichumiliation #overthinking ♬ i hate it here – overlays ⸆⸉
Another passenger with Celiac disease says she specially requested a gluten-free meal before her flight but was told during meal service that there wasn’t one available. To make matters worse, she says the flight attendants were rude about it.
The Mary Sue contacted Fink via email, Instagram direct message, and TikTok comment and direct message.
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